After Egypt
by Denali Prime
Summary: The fight against the Fallen is over and tempers have flared. Spade's becoming a new soldier and has gotten closer than ever to Optimus. But, trouble will always find the Autobots and someone will get hurt. But who? This is part 2.5 of the Spade Quadrilogy, following I Rise, You Fall!
1. Power of the Orbs

**Chapter 1- Power of the Orbs**

**Okay, welcome to the new story! It won't last too long this time, but I have some ideas for future chapters, which is awesome! Speaking of chapters, I've decided to do a "one chapter per week" sort of thing. Since I hate Sundays and Mondays and Tuesdays are for me to recuperate from the terrible day I probably had on Monday, I'll use Wednesdays to post. Don't hold me to that, though. **

**Enjoy the first chappie!**

**Warnings: Language, sexual content (not in this chapter), violence against assholes, violence in general, etc.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers, just Spade and the plot.**

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For the past four days, Ratchet and I have been trying to convince Optimus to let me fight in the war, considering my new power. And after constant arguments with Optimus and wrenchless checkups, the Prime finally agreed. But of course, only on certain terms and conditions.

For one, I could only fight if I had the power of the Allspark mastered. I suppose this is reasonable enough. I mean, I don't wanna walk onto the battlefield all Willy nilly and get _shot _again. Two, Optimus had to watch me fight and from there, he would decide if I was ready or not. Okay… no problem with that. He's been fighting for a few million years, so I'm sure he is more than qualified to say whether I'm ready or not.

Surprisingly, those are his only terms, so Ratchet pulled me into the training room so that I could practice with the Allspark's power. Sam decided that he wanted to watch so that he can "watch me do something stupid and blow something up". I glared at him when he told me that, but continued to practice while imagining that the targets were all Sam.

So far, I could create shields and orbs. And that was pretty disappointing. "Spade, for the vessel of the Allspark, you should be able to do more than create orbs and shields."

I turned to him and created an orb, jerking my arm in his direction to make it seem like I was going to throw it. My brother jumped and ducked behind the bench. I snorted used the same orb to throw at another human shaped target, imagining it was Galloway's crotch. "Shit, for all you know, I can fly."

Sam snickered and came from behind his hiding spot. "That would be kinda cool."

Ratchet hummed from the side. He was watching me and taking notes about my aim and stuff like that. Optimus was in a meeting, so he said he would be here in a few minutes. "Let's try moving targets. Sam, I need you for this."

Sam stood up and walked over to Ratchet. The medic bent down and handed the freshman a stack of plates. I arched an eyebrow but said nothing. "You are going to throw these into the air and Spade is going to shoot them."

I grinned and created another orb. "That's awesome! It's like that thing… what's it called?" I put my other hand on my chin and thought for a second before giving up. "Oh well. Pull!" I yelled. Sam threw one of the plates and I threw an orb, nailing it perfectly. When the orb hit the plate, it left nothing in its wake. I whistled and signaled for Sam to throw another plate. Like the last plate, the orb destroyed it completely. "Ah! Skeet shooting. That's an unfortunate name."

After all the plates were gone and Ratchet finished his notes, the medic prepared another training station for me. "This is the more realistic training station. Here, you will do whatever you need to do to get to the red flag. It has our insignia on it. There will be mechs shooting at you. Don't get shot and make sure you take them out if you can. I want to see what you can do," Ratchet said. I nodded and put my hands on my hips, looking at the training station. It was pretty impressive, actually. The settings were holographic, but they still looked pretty realistic. We were located in a forest, which bothered me a little, but I chose not to say anything. "Spade, are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's do this," I replied, but then I thought of something. "Wait! What happens if I do get shot?"

"Nothing. Their weapons are loaded with water balloons. The worst thing that could happen is you could be electrocuted by having some sort of technology on you." I checked my pockets and took out my cellphone and my headphones, tossing them to Sam. "Are you ready now?"

I nodded and the training began. I ran and ducked behind a rock. One of the Decepticons fired a shot right where I was standing before I hid. After that shot had been fired, I rose up and threw an orb at him, piercing his spark chamber. He dropped to the ground as I kept running. I barrel rolled when a rapid fire weapon was used by another 'Con that was somewhat hiding behind a large tree. I created another orb and aimed at the tree, knowing that it would penetrate it easily and go straight through the 'Con's head.

The hair on my neck stood up when four 'Cons were down because I knew that it wasn't over. Someone was still there. To prove my point, a water balloon hit the ground a few inches away from me. I looked up and noticed a 'Con was sniping from a small cliff. After that water balloon was fired, another shot was just as I found him, but this time, it wasn't a water balloon. Instead, it was a real bullet (which I would have to ask Ratchet about later), so I created an energy shield. The blast was absorbed by the shield and I took it and molded it into another orb, throwing it at the 'Con. The shot that hit the shield gave it a boost and added energy to the orb that I created from it. This was one of my newest moves that I had discovered about… twenty minutes ago.

When that 'Con was killed, I made my way to the flag. But before I could get any closer to it, another 'Con appeared out of nowhere. He looked at me menacingly holding a large weapon that looked strikingly similar to Megatron's fusion cannon. I grinned at him, using both hands to create two separate orbs. In my head, a plan was forming. Hopefully, these 'Cons were as dumb as the real ones.

Instead of using the orbs on the 'Con, I used them on two nearby trees, close to the bottom of their trunks. Both of them fell over in front of the 'Con, picking up dirt and dust from the trail that I had been using to get to the flag. The 'Con roared and searched for me as I climbed up another tree as quietly as possible. When I was situated on a sturdy branch, I aimed for the 'Con's head and fired. The orb went straight through the 'Con's head, offlining him. I jumped down from the tree and ran over to the flag.

"That was fun!" I yelled at Ratchet. What I didn't count on was Optimus and Ironhide sitting there and, the former looking at me with a proud smile and the latter looking at me with an impressed smirk. I stared at them for a second before putting my hands on my hips and closing my eyes. "How long have you two been standing right there?" I asked calmly. Ironhide shrugged.

"Ever since you started the station," the trigger-happy mech replied. I sighed sat down next to the pole.

"So, you saw all of that?" I asked, gesturing to each dead, fake, Decepticon. Optimus nodded and continued to smile warmly. I laughed and stood up, jogging over to the three Autobots and Sam.

"I must say, Spade, that was quite impressive," Optimus said. I grinned and waved him off.

"Thanks! Does that mean I get to fight with you guys?!" I asked excitedly. Ironhide's jaw dropped and Optimus shook his helm.

"You're gonna let her fight?" the black mech asked.

"Not yet." I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest. "You'll have to learn hand to hand combat and how to use a firearm before I let you fight."

"But that was still pretty awesome," Sam grinned. "High five!" I gave him a high five before Optimus lowered his hand for me. I stepped onto it before he lifted his hand up to his shoulder. Once I was situated on my favourite spot, he began to walk away.

"Same time tomorrow, Ratchet?" he asked. The medic nodded.

"Can I teach her some things, boss?" Ironhide questioned. "I mean, as your weapon specialist, I think I should." Optimus chuckled as I laughed.

"I think it's a good idea. Why not?" the leader replied.

"Oh, this is gonna be good." The three mechs and Sam laughed before we said our goodbyes and left the training room.

* * *

This time around, Optimus brought me to my room. I wanted to take a quick shower before doing anything else. It was standard routine for me. The Prime politely waited outside my door so that I could get dressed. I decided to wear black pajama shorts and a navy blue tank top. Though I wasn't planning on sleeping, I still wanted to lie in bed and rest for a few hours.

When I was done, I walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Optimus' holoform leaning against his alt mode. He looked back at the sound of the door and smiled lightly. "Come on in." Optimus came in and shut the door behind him. He walked over to me and took my hands in his.

"I'm really proud of you, Spade. That was impressive, especially since you've had no prior experience," he said.

"Well, there was that time in Egypt. Killed two 'Cons," I replied. He looked taken aback.

"Really?"

"Yep. All the more reasons for you to let me fight," I said slyly.

"No." I pouted as he brought one of my hands up to his lips and gently kissed them. "I don't want you to get killed, Spade. Don't worry. Based on what I've seen today, I think I will let you fight. Just not too soon. Three lessons each with Ironhide and I and I'll decide then."

I grinned. "You're gonna train me?"

"Of course. Hand to hand combat is essential."

"Yeah, this is gonna be _really _fun." Optimus smiled as I tilted my head and gently kissed him. When he kissed me back, his arms wrapped around waist and mine wrapped around his neck. The kiss steadily became deeper, making me thankful that neither of us had to stop to catch our breath. I tangled my fingers in his dark, navy blue hair as his tongue poked my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I gladly gave it to him, moaning softly as his tongue explored my mouth and—

The door flew open and I jumped, breaking the kiss to stare at the intruder. "Hey—oops." Sideswipe's holoform looked at the two us sheepishly as I glared at him.

"A long, long time ago, in a kingdom far, far away, there was this guy. He created something legendary called _knocking_. Have you ever heard of it?" I snapped.

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**What a lovely way to end a chapter and start a story. Haha. Anyway, let me know what you thought. Sorry this story was posted a little late. I got distracted. Forgive me for any spelling and grammar mistakes, if any, and I'll see you next chapter!**

**Denali Prime out!**


	2. Morshower

**Chapter 2- Morshower**

**Here's the second chapter! And the story was updated on Wednesday, as promised. I've actually had it finished since Sunday, but I wanted to stick to Wednesday updates. Anyway, enjoy!**

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"I-I'm sorry, Prime! I didn't mean to walk in on you guys, b-but comms are down," Sideswipe stuttered. "And I had to come and get you." My glare didn't waver, but I looked at Optimus and saw that he looked to be deep in thought.

"Optimus?" I said softly. The Prime gave me an apologetic kiss on the forehead and looked at Sideswipe.

"How did that happen?" he asked. The silver haired holoform shrugged his shoulders. "Is there a jammer?"

"A few NEST soldiers and Autobots are looking for a jammer, but they haven't reported in yet."

"Well, what did you need?" I questioned.

"General Morshower has requested a meeting. He wants to see you too, Spade."

I frowned and exhaled deeply. "I'm gonna change. It won't take too long." Reluctantly, I left the warmth and safety of the Prime's arms and went to the drawer. Pulling out a shirt and some jeans, my frown deepened. "Why does he want to see us this late, though?"

"Late?" Sideswipe said. I knew that his face was scrunched up based on how he responded to my question. "Spade, it's only five o'clock."

"What? There's no way it's fi—" I stopped talking and sighed when I noticed the clock that was on the drawer. It said 5:01, but it was close enough. "So the sun's still up?"

I looked back and both holoforms nodded. "Great. Now my sense of time is thrown off. Um…" Optimus and Sideswipe looked at me innocently. I gestured to the clothes, hoping that they would understand that I need privacy to change. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to get it, so I gave in. "Could you guys give me a minute?"

A look of understanding flashed across Optimus' face. He gently pushed Sideswipe's holoform out of my room and closed the door behind him, leaving me alone. Sighing, I took the tank top off and slid the other shirt over my head. When I saw what was on it, I grinned. Jazz gave me this shirt the other day. It was short sleeved and was colored a deep blue. On the front of the shirt, right in the middle, was the Autobot insignia that was colored a light shade of red. I didn't have anything dressy to wear to the meeting, so I settled with this. After switching from pajama shorts to jeans, I walked out of the room to see Optimus in his bipedal, waiting for me. I smiled as his hand came down and stepped onto it. He lifted his hand to his shoulder and I jumped onto it, grabbing his smokestack as usual.

Once I was situated there, he began to walk to the hangar where the meeting was taking place. As he walked, I saw a lot of NEST soldiers walking around and looking in weird places, searching for a jammer that they thought was placed somewhere on base to disable the use of the Autobots' comm links. It bothered me that someone was on the base, using a jammer against the team. It bothered me even more that we had no idea who it was and I could tell that Optimus was worried too. And that bothered me more than anything.

I didn't notice that we were at the hangar until someone said my name. I shook my head and looked around. Inside were Lennox, Epps, and Sam, plus a handful of technology specialists. When I saw the four, I was glad that we weren't the last ones to get here. I knew that Optimus always had Ratchet and Ironhide in the meetings, regardless of the topics. And since the comms were down, I assumed that Sideswipe was the one to go around to everyone's quarters to alert them of the meeting and situation.

A large TV was placed on the far wall. I didn't recall seeing it the last time I was here. "Hmm. Is that new?"

"We got it when you were training with Ratchet. Courtesy of Lennox and Epps," Optimus replied. I nodded and jumped onto the stairs from Optimus' shoulder. Sam walked over and stood next to me, a scrutinizing look on his face. I realized that I was now looking down at him and I grinned.

"Hey short stuff," I teased. Sam huffed and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Just 'cause you're five inches taller than me, doesn't make me short. Just shorter," he murmured. I laughed as Ironhide and Ratchet came in and stood next to their leader. When they came in, Lennox began barking orders, making sure the "secure link to the JCS" or whatever was up. A few minutes later, General Morshower was on the large TV screen. Sam and I turned to face him as Lennox and Epps walked over to stand next to us.

"Major Lennox, Sergeant Epps," the general said in greeting. They saluted him and put their hands behind their backs. "Prime, Ratchet, Ironhide." I couldn't see what their responses were, but I guessed that they just nodded. "Mr. and Miss Witwicky, I'm happy to finally meet the two of you."

I smiled nervously and looked at Sam. He opened his mouth and I automatically feared his response. "Hi." For good reason, obviously. I mentally face palmed and by the looks of it, so did Lennox and Epps.

"I'm sure Major Lennox has informed you of your reward for saving the planet. The world thanks you."

"You're welcome," Sam said. I gaped and lowered my head.

"Sam," I murmured lowly. "Please stop talking."

"Prime, it's good to have you back. There was a lot of chaos without you here. In Egypt, were all of the Decepticons killed?"

"Unfortunately, they were not, General. Megatron and Starscream managed to escape," Optimus said. Based on the way he spoke, his leader mode has been activated. For a good part of the meeting, I was zoned out, lost in my thoughts. I thought about the jammer and Elita-1 leaving the base. I snapped out of it when someone called my name.

"Spade Alexis Foster-Witwicky," General Morshower drawled, looking at a piece of paper. There was amusement in his eyes. "Have I already told you that I am happy to finally meet you?"

"Yes, sir." The general picked up a different piece of paper.

"It says here that you attacked the Autobot liaison, Theodore Galloway for making fun of Optimus Prime with… Allspark energy. Is that true?"

I paled and heard Sam gulp. "If I say no, will I get in trouble for it?"

"Spade," Lennox hissed.

I cringed and looked at the general. "Yes, sir."

"And you told Major Lennox to push him out of a plane, correct?" he continued. I sighed deeply.

"Yes, sir." Morshower sat the paper down on the table and smiled before outright _laughing._ I kid you not. He sat there and began to _laugh._ I swore that I heard some of the other people in the room laughing with him.

"And that's why I have been so eager to meet you. I'm gonna be honest with you. No one here likes Galloway. And no one here is sure why the president sent him of all people to be the liaison. He's tried for months to get the Autobots off of the planet when it's quite obvious that we need them here. But you are the first person to openly show how much you hate him." My jaw dropped and Sam closed it for me. I looked at him gratefully, and then brought my attention back to Morshower.

"Is… Is that a good thing?" I asked timidly.

"Mostly. We gave him the pink slip after we found him. A new liaison will be there Monday morning."

This time, my jaw dropped again and Sam's did too. "So, just like that?" I snapped my fingers. "We'll have a new liaison?"

"We've actually had many reports from people that worked with Galloway or had him as a liaison. They all said the same thing."

"That he's an ass? Oops," I said. Epps and Sam snickered and Lennox actually face palmed this time.

"Yes. None of you will have to worry about him anymore. Dismissed." The screen went dark and we all looked at each other. It was silent for five seconds before Epps started doing a victory dance.

"No more Galloway!" Ironhide shouted. All of the humans in the room began to start cheering and dancing and everything of the sort. Ratchet was smirking and Optimus was fighting a grin.

"That was an eventful meeting," the Prime stated. I smiled and shook my head.

"You know, we should throw a party for this," Epps said.

"I agree. Why not? I don't think Megatron'll be attacking anytime soon. And we all need a break. Lennox?"

"I certainly don't have a problem with it. Spade's right. We all need a break. Optimus?"

I looked at him hopefully as he frowned. "Spade…"

"Come on, Optimus. You need a break the most, right Ratchet?" I looked at Ratchet, knowing that he would back me up with this argument.

"He most certainly does! Optimus, I don't care what you do to take a break, just do something," Ratchet snapped. The red and blue mech still looked skeptical, but sighed and lowered his helm in defeat when Ratchet unsubspaced a wrench that already had red and blue paint on it.

"Fine. You can have your party, but… try not to—"

"Do anything stupid? You got it!" I grinned and looked at the others on base. "We're having a party, guys! Food and alcohol for everyone!"

* * *

After we finished our cheering fest for the discharge of Galloway, I mentioned the bullet to Ratchet. He, Ironhide, and Optimus of course, were all shocked. The medic and weapons specialist went to the training room to figure out why that one Decepticon fired a bullet at me instead of a water balloon. Now, all four of us were in the training room as Ironhide checked it out. He opened a panel that was on the fake 'Con's back and frowned.

"It shouldn't have fired a bullet at ya. When they run out 'o water balloons, they automatically stop 'firin. Pit, they aren't even supposed to be armed with bullets," Ironhide grunted as he examined the panel. He closed then closed it and walked over to us, slight anger in his optics. "If anything, I'm gonna say that the 'Con was rigged."

I tensed and put my hands in my pockets. "You mean someone was trying to kill me?" As I stood in Optimus' hand, I leaned my head against his chest plates and heard a deep growl come from him.

"Looks that way. Hey, don't worry, kid. You got us 'protectin ya and ya got the Allspark. When we find out whoever it was…" Ironhide's cannons warmed up. "…we'll blow em to kingdom come." Ratchet nodded and twirled a wrench in agreement.

I smiled at the mech. I was happy to know that the 'Bots cared about me enough to be this protective. "Hey, what time is it?"

Ratchet's optics dimmed before he grinned evilly. "It's time for your checkup."

"I've already been to you today!" I exclaimed.

"I'm afraid this is something you'll have to get used to, Spade. Ratchet is only doing this because he cares," Optimus rumbled. I sighed and walked onto the medic's waiting palm.

"Hey, thanks for checking that out for me, Ironhide," I mumbled. The trigger-happy mech nodded in response before he left to do other things. Then, Ratchet left the training room and headed for the medbay with Optimus following.

**(**

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When we got to medbay, Ratchet did the basic routine. I was scanned about six times as I sat on the berth and Ratchet was studying what he saw. But this time, he scanned me an additional three times, and there was a bright white flash. The medic looked shocked. He turned to Optimus and there was another bright flash. I knew that these were x-rays, only for Cybertronians. Ratchet projected the holographic images on the wall behind me and I turned around to see them. He had my x-ray next to Optimus' and they looked quite different, obviously. But they looked a little _too _different. Since I was turning Cybertronian and at least 15% of my body was now made of metal, there should be _some _similarities.

"It appears I was wrong. It won't take 1-2 months for the transformation to be complete. Based on the x-rays, it'll take about 1-2 years!" I gaped and looked closely at the x-rays.

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"Prime's x-ray shows more than one layer of metal in his body. We Cybertronians normally have three layers. In addition to that, you don't even have enough Energon to be a full Cybertronian. The layer that's beginning to form now is a very thin layer. That's why it's forming so quickly. The second and third layer will take a lot longer to form and your spark will have to begin making Energon. And your brain will change, too."

My shoulders sagged. "So I'll have to deal with the pain for a whole 1-2 _years_?" I whined.

"I'm afraid so."

"Greeeeeat."

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**And there's the second chapter. There will be a new liaison and everything will be sunshine and lollipops!**

**Spade: Except for the fact that I have to deal with an extreme amount of pain for the next 1-2 years.**

**Me: Get over it. You're turning into something beautiful. It's metamorphosis. Like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.**

**Spade: You don't even like caterpillars!**

**Me: What's your point?**

**Spade: *grumbles***

**Denali Prime out!**


	3. Party Time

**Chapter 3- Party Time**

**Welcome back. Here's that chapter I promised you. I think I'm doing pretty well with this one-chapter-a-week thing. Anyway, enjoy and thanks for the reviews, follows, and favourites.**

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Since Galloway was fired and we would have a new (and hopefully better) liaison, we decided to throw a party in the rec room to celebrate. Most of the NEST soldiers, Autobots, and even Sam and Mikaela were going to be there. We weren't allowed to drink alcohol yet, but I was sure that the older soldiers would be too drunk to realize it by the time the party was over. Now, as I made a mental map of the base, I absently rubbed the back of my neck. Allspark was causing me to change into a Cybertronian, and the transformation was going to be hell for the next 1-2 years, but it was worth it. I'd yet to think of any downsides to it, other than the threat of scientists. But, since I'm still human in some ways, I can hurt them for trying to do any sort of experiments on me and have more of a chance of getting away with it.

When I got to the rec room, I saw that it had been decked out with balloons, banners, colorful paper, and fifteen different types of alcohol sitting on a table. I frowned and looked around, noticing three tables worth of food such as celery, mini tomatoes, chips and dip, and a lot more. I gaped and looked at Epps when he walked into the rec room, grinning like an idiot.

"Whaddya think?" he asked, hands on his hips. I pursed my lips and then sighed deeply.

"You know, when I said a party, this isn't exactly what I meant. I didn't mean a full on 'might get drunk, high, and laid' type party," I breathed. Epps snickered and glanced around.

"Ah, it's not like that, Spadey," he replied, his grin widening. "We don't even have any drugs."

I facepalmed and left the rec room to get dressed. The party was going start in about ten minutes. I wasn't planning on putting on anything special, being that I'm not one of those types of girls and I don't have anything special to wear anyway. And since I'd taken a shower an hour ago after training with Optimus and Ironhide, all I had to do was change from t-shirt and sweatpants to t-shirt and jeans. I knew Mikaela would have something to say, but eventually, she would get too drunk to actually care.

Once I got to my room, I changed into a pair of dark grey jeans and decided to switch from my t-shirt to a black tank top. Then, I went to the attached bathroom and pulled my hair into a ponytail. In case I threw up, I didn't want to have to pull my hair out of my face. When I was done straightening myself up, I left my room and almost ran into a blue and red, flamed leg. I gasped and put my hand on my chest, trying to calm my racing heart — spark.

"Primus, you scared me," I breathed. Optimus knelt down and looked me in the eye, regret in his optics.

"I didn't mean to frighten you, Spade," he said. I shook my head and put my hand on his cheek, feeling the grooves and warm metal.

"It's cool. I guess it's party time," I replied. The mech smiled and replaced his helm with his hand. I stepped onto it and remained there being that the rec room was only a few doors down from my own room. Optimus used the Cybertronian sized door to enter and I grinned at the amount of people. Everyone was there, even Ratchet and Ironhide. Jazz was going to be the DJ, which was no surprise. I jumped down from Optimus' palm and he walked over by the other 'Bots' alts, transforming down and activating his holoform.

Epps took a microphone from Jazz and grinned as he spoke, "Welcome to our 'So Long, Asshole' party, everyone!" The group cheered as I smirked and sat down on a couch next to Mikaela. "Now, this is a very special event, so make sure you all drink and have fun and dance. And let it be known that in case we get in trouble for this from the higher ups, it was all Spade's idea. Let's give her a round of applause, by the way." I sat up and glared at Epps as the others clapped and some of them snickered.

"Hold on! How the hell did this become my idea? I was kidding! You and Lennox were the ones who did all of this!" I exclaimed, using wild hand motions to gesture to the setup in the rec room. I figured these two idiots would try and put all of this on me, though, I wasn't prepared with a comeback.

"You're the one who said 'let's throw a party', so party we shall!"

The others murmured in agreement. I shook my head and waved my hand. "Wait, wait, wait. I have one more thing to say. Did you or did you not invite strippers? Because if you did, we're gonna have to shut this down now. I'm not taking credit for _that._" The people in the room laughed. Epps groaned and snapped his fingers.

"Dammit. Sam," he emphasized his name. "You forgot to remind me. It's all his fault. Oh well. Hit it, Jazz!" Epps yelled. Immediately preceding that statement was loud pop music coming out of some speakers that I didn't notice before, drowning out Sam's cries of protest. I leaned back in the couch and watched everyone else dance, drink, or just socialize. I closed my eyes and took a cup that I felt on my hand, putting it to my lips and sipping it carefully. The drink caused me to grimace and I held the cup away from my mouth. Truth be told, I'd never had alcohol before this party, so it was weird feeling the burning sensation running down my throat. Whatever was in the cup was pretty strong, but I needed it right now. The rigged 'Con and rogue pink Autobot were still on my mind.

Forcing my eyes open, I was greeted with the sight of Sam and Mikaela, smirking down at me. "You looked like you needed a drink," Sam said. I nodded as they pulled up two separate chairs and sat down in front of me. They both held red cups in their hands, probably filled with some sort of alcohol that I couldn't name. Mikaela's smirk turned into a warm smile as she glanced behind me. I turned around and craned my neck, regretting it as almost immediately, a sharp pain ran up and down my spine. But what greeted me took the pain away. Optimus' holoform held a blue cube in his hand, speaking with the holoforms of Ironhide and Ratchet. He was actually smiling and that made me smile; he deserved a break every once in a while. The mech was always stressed, being a leader and all, and he contributes so much to his cause. My smile widened as I thought about the past two years. It was a little bumpy, but it was in the past.

"He loves you," Mikaela said, taking a sip of her unknown beverage. I nodded and grinned, staring at the floor.

"I know. I love him, too. Took about a year and a half to realize it, but…" I trailed off and drank from my cup. Sam's smirk widened.

"I wanna know if you've gotten any, yet," he said. I clicked my tongue and kicked him in the shin roughly, feeling some satisfaction at seeing him clutching it in pain. Mikaela rolled her eyes and got up to get another drink. I looked into my respective cup and noticed that at some point, I had finished all of what I had. She seemed to notice this as well, and came back with two more bright red cups, both of which had small amounts of condensation on the sides. She handed one to me and I took it gratefully, downing half of it before thanking her and rubbing the water on my pants.

"If you must know, Samuel, we haven't had sex yet. It's a little early, don't you think? I'm gonna give it some time."

Sam snorted and downed the rest of his drink. "How much time do you need?"

I looked at him blankly. "Sam, we have been together for a total of ten days. I—"

My adoptive brother cut me off. "…specifically told me that you would not have sex with a person unless you loved them. You just said that you love him, so why not?"

I frowned and drank the rest of my drink. "There's more to it. And how much have you had?" I questioned, nodding to his empty, red cup.

"Uh… maybe about four cups. This stuff is pretty good actually," he said, putting his cup to his lips. He frowned when he realized that he had consumed all of its contents and got up to get some more.

Once he was gone, I looked at the brunette sitting across from me. "I've never seen him drunk before." She smiled a small smile and slouched a little.

"I have… once. We were celebrating Megatron's defeat by drinking everything in my dad's liquor cabinet. It was a pretty big mistake, but… don't tell anyone, especially not his mother," she replied. I frowned and sat my cup on the table next to the couch.

"Of course not. That's manslaughter in a way. But where was I?"

"I dunno. Maybe you were with Optimus," she grinned. I rolled my eyes and looked at Sam, who was walking back to the two of us, four cups in his hand. He handed two of them to me, being that he and I were finishing our drinks pretty fast.

* * *

After downing ten total cups of beer, Sam was pretty much drunk off his ass. I stopped drinking after my fourth cup and only felt a little tipsy. Sam plopped down on the couch next to me as Mikaela sat back down in her seat. She only had two drinks, so she was sober enough to make sure we didn't do anything stupid.

Sam threw his head back on the couch and exhaled deeply. When the bass dropped in the music, it sent a pulse through my feet up and all through my body, giving me an alcohol and bass produced headache. I was only tipsy, so I couldn't even imagine what it felt like to Sam. He was clutching at his head and groaning lowly. "I think I've had enough."

"Dammit, Sam. I said that five cups ago," I snorted. Mikaela giggled and nibbled at a piece of celery.

"Yeah, well, I do what I want." I laughed and rubbed at my abdomen. There was a dull ache there, so I assumed that it was just Allspark, doing his/her thing with the transformation and all. "I've been meaning to ask you something, sis," Sam slurred.

I looked at him and quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"If it has anything to do with my sex life—albeit nonexistent, you'll be kicked in a place that's just a little higher than your shin." I smirked as he snorted and subconsciously covered his groin with his hands.

"No, actually, I had a question about your parents." I tensed and looked at my lap. "I know that as your brother, I should already know this, but what happened to them exactly?"

His words were slightly slurred, but I still understood them. I inhaled sharply and got up to get one last drink for the night. When I sat back down, Mikaela was looking at me worriedly. I looked across from me and saw that Sam was sitting in the chair next to Mikaela and someone else was beside me. Optimus' holoform was looking at me the same way Mikaela was. "Spade…" Optimus said. I sighed looked at him lovingly.

"It's fine. You should know this, too. I mean, I don't have a problem with telling anyone," I reassured him. "It's still pretty hard to do, but oh well." I sighed again and rubbed my stomach again. The ache there was becoming less dull and the pain was a lot more noticeable now. If this transformation was going to be anything like the one I felt on the aircraft carrier, it wasn't going to be fun for me. Instead of thinking about it, I focused on the story.

"We… um… We were on a plane to visit some relatives in Washington State. Everything was fine, excluding the always present tension between me, Ernest, and Maria. Those are my parents in case…" I trailed off. The three of them nodded. "They didn't want to go and neither did I, but we did anyway. I still don't know why." I inhaled deeply, squeezing my eyes shut. It was getting worse and worse. "There was a bird, and… the damn thing flew into the window. It gave the pilot a real heart attack, and the other pilot… it was a big plane. He couldn't fly it by himself. It crashed in the middle of some city in Salem." I paused and drank most of the alcohol in my cup, rubbing my abdomen with my other hand.

"I remember looking to my left and seeing that Ernest wasn't in his seat. The wall, or whatever, of the plane broke off as it went down and it took him with it. He was already dead in the sky. And… and I remember looking to my right and seeing Maria… or what was left of her, anyway. I was eleven, so at the time, I had a hard time seeing that," Optimus squeezed my hand as Sam and Mikaela gaped. I looked at the sweet mech sitting next to me, smiling somewhat sadly as I squeezed his hand as well. "And above all, I remember not caring."

"Spade…"

"Not in the slightest," I continued. Whenever I discussed my parents, it made me angry, regardless of what happened. And by now, the pain was escalating and spreading to different parts of my abdomen. "I was eleven when it happened. And I remember why I didn't care, because in those eleven years, I had never once been told that I was loved, that they cared… They didn't make eye contact, they didn't talk to me. If I were to be kidnapped, they wouldn't care. Sure, they fed me and bought me clothes, but it was all boy stuff. So, when I went back to the house to pack up my things after the crash, I did the snooping that I'd never been able to do in the past." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a folded piece of notebook paper. "This was in my dad's journal. It said that I was supposed to be a boy. So, at the funeral, I didn't cry. When I was put in that adoption center, I didn't cry. Because I didn't care."

"Why didn't any of your other relative try to get custody of you?" Mikaela asked. I shook my head and swished the leftover alcohol in my cup. Then, I laughed humorlessly.

"Same reason as my par— Ernest and Maria. I haven't called them Mom and Dad since the crash… for obvious reasons, I guess."

The three of them were quiet as they took all of that in. It wasn't hard for me to explain because in all honesty, I was happy when Ernest and Maria died. It meant that there was a fifty percent chance that I would end up with a family that would care about me, that would take care of me, regardless of the fact that I didn't have a penis and testosterone in my body. Meeting the Witwickys was one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I would always be in their debt for taking me in.

At this point, the pain in my abdomen went from somewhat tolerable to downright unbearable. I groaned and clutched my stomach before jumping up and bolting out of the rec room. Ignoring the calls from Mikaela, I sprinted, looking for a nearby bathroom. Once I found it, I ran in and stood in front of the mirror, holding up my shirt to see if the changes were visible from my perspective. A pained groan escaped my lips as something, some sort of change, probably my intestines and stomach being destroyed and turned into something else, something made of metal, caused all sorts of different white hot _pain_. My nerves were being set on fire, sending angry, pained signals to my brain. The agony was incredible, but in the worst way and I keeled over, clutching my stomach as I heard, actually _heard_ the metal in my body shifting and forming, the shredding of my internal organs sending unpleasant shivers down my spine. I didn't know where the blood was going or what was currently happening to it, but I didn't want to think about it either.

After five unbearably long minutes, the pain was nearly gone, and I pulled myself up, stumbling out the door. When I looked up, I saw a small, blonde girl, holding a stuffed animal and blanket, staring up at me with big worry filled eyes. My vision blurred as I lowered myself to the ground again. "This is trippy," I breathed. "I didn't think I drank that much. Christ, is that…?"

"Are you okay?" the child asked. When my vision was clean and my eyes focused, I was able to make out chocolate eyes, large cheeks that almost looked bitable, dirty blonde, almost brown hair that looked way too similar to a certain major's… By the looks of it, this girl was no more than three years old. When I reached out to touch her shoulder, I felt a solid figure and knew it wasn't the alcohol. Surprisingly, she didn't flinch or try to run away.

"I'm… I'm fine, but who are you, kid?" I asked carefully.

"My name is Annabelle Lennox!" she replied, a toothy grin breaking out on her face. The girl — with an adorable face and stereotypical yet lovable youth coming off of her in waves — confirmed that she was indeed the child of Major William Lennox. If I was sober, I would help her find her father, but then, even if I was, _he_ probably wasn't. Galloway's discharge required celebration for the Major. He, Epps, Ironhide, and I were the ones who hated him most. Drinking and partying was the way to rejoice the fact that we weren't going to see him on Monday or the next day or the next day or the next day…

"Me and my mommy are visiting the base to my daddy! We just got here!" Annabelle's small voice interrupted my thoughts, but I was glad for that. She said that her mother came to the base with her, so she had to be worried sick looking for the charming blonde. I smiled at her innocence and put my hands on her shoulders to lead her away from the party that was going on a few doors down. She didn't need to see what was going on in that room at such a tender age.

"That's great! I'm sure your daddy will be so happy to see you… when he's sober," I muttered the last part under my breath. "My name is Spade Witwicky. I'm… half a soldier right now."

The baby blonde gasped and smiled again. "You're the Allspark girl! That's so cool!" Her innocence and childlike behaviour warmed my heart — spark as new, rapid footsteps sounded throughout the hallways. A tall, beautiful blonde woman with bags under eyes and a newfound sweet smile at the sight of who was probably her child slowed down and began walking at an easy pace. She sighed with what must have been relief, panting and directing her blue-green eyes to me.

"Hi. I'm sorry about Annabelle. We got here a few minutes ago, but only a few soldiers were milling around, so she ran off, looking for Will." She walked closer and held out her hand. "I'm Sarah. Sarah Lennox," she said warmly. I took one of my hands off of Annabelle's shoulder and took her hand, shaking it firmly.

"Spade… Witwicky." Sarah gasped and I smiled. "Yep, the Allspark girl as I've been told."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Will has told me so much about you. Speaking of Will, have you seen him?"

My face dropped as I thought of a good lie. But when I looked into her eyes again, I knew I couldn't do that. She was only looking for her husband and Annabelle was only looking for her daddy. "Have I seen him…? Uh… We were kinda having a party and there was…" I looked down at Annabelle and put my hands over her ears. "There was a lot of alcohol, so he may not be sober. The discharge of a certified asshole is kind of a big thing for us to celebrate, so…"

Sarah giggled and held out her arm. I let go of Annabelle and the small child willingly ran into her mother's arms. "So I've heard. If you're planning on going back, can you let him know that we're here?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. It was nice meeting you, Spade," she said, smiling lightly.

I nodded and waved at the as she began to walk off. "You too." Turning on my heels, I jogged through the halls to get back to the rec room and nearly ran into Optimus, Ratchet, Sam, and Mikaela. All four of them looked at me worriedly, though Sam looked like he was having a lot of trouble standing.

The next thing I knew, there was a bright light in my eye and I flinched and leaned away from it. Ratchet was holding a small light, checking my eyes or something like that, and observing me to see what the problem was. I assumed that he had been notified of my departure.

"Before you ask anything, I'm fine. It was just Allspark," I said. Optimus and Ratchet visibly sagged before the latter stored his light in a breast pocket on the doctor's jacket he wore. "It hurt like hell, but I knew it would, so there's no need to worry. Everything's fine."

Ratchet huffed and straightened. "How much alcohol have you consumed, youngling?"

I sighed and put my hands in my pockets. "Five cups. But before you yell at me, let it be known that Sam had ten."

"You had what?!" Ratchet yelled. I snickered and crossed my arms as Ratchet pulled a small wrench out of his other breast pocket. If you knew the medic well, then you knew that he always carried at least two wrenches on his person at all times.

"Easy, Ratchet. He'll suffer when he wakes up in the morning," I reasoned. "Truth be told, I'm looking forward to Sam's hangover just as much as you are."

The medic grumbled but stored his wrench back in its respective pocket. I looked at Optimus before walking forward and snuggling in between his arms. He wrapped them around me as I sighed. He inhaled deeply and squeezed me tightly.

"I love you, Optimus," I murmured. It was weird, being held like this, being loved like this. It was a foreign feeling for me and I finally understood the saying 'better to have loved once than never to have loved at all.'

"I love you. And I'll show you just how much I do in 1-2 years," he replied. I blushed and laughed softly.

"Hey, get a room!" Sam slurred. I growled at Sam, even as his legs gave out and he fell on the floor. Mikaela laughed as I snickered when Ratchet took his wrench back out and hit Sam on the head lightly.

"Couldn't resist, could you Ratchet?" I teased. The medic huffed and put his wrench away again before his holoform grinned evilly at me.

"Of course I couldn't, youngling. And when you're fully Cybertronian, I'll be waiting." The holoform fizzled out of existence and left me gaping, Mikaela guffawing, and Optimus smiling. I'm sure the scene looked pretty comical, but I didn't care. Turning back to Optimus, I sighed deeply and closed my eyes.

"He's serious, isn't he?"

* * *

**And there's the third chapter. There was only OOCness due to alcohol, so it doesn't count :). Anyway, I'm counting down till Age of Extinction comes out. I know I'm gonna cry during the movie and if Bee or Optimus dies, I'm leaving the theater in outrage. Who wants to join me! Tehee. Countdown: 16 days until Extinction. If I made any mistakes, I'm sorry about that. See you next Wednesday!**

**Denali Prime out!**


	4. Unexpected Retreat

**Chapter 4- Unexpected Retreat**

**Okay, so I had a lot of ideas, what with Annabelle coming to the base and everything and the pain and… Basically, what I'm trying to say is: this story will be a little longer than I thought. Yay for you young buttercups, I guess, sarcastic whoop-de-do for me. Oh well. I'm not gonna complain anymore, so here you go.**

**Last thing: In response to **LtSprinkles, **happy extremely belated birthday!**

* * *

When I woke up, I was snuggled comfortably in my boyfriend's arms. It was the best feeling in the world, even though I didn't remember getting here in the first place. As I sat up, the world began to spin and there was another dull pain, only this time in my head. Considering how much I drank last night, I didn't know if this was a hangover or Allspark and his/her handy work. Either way, it was pretty painful, but I don't think that regular painkillers would do anything for my situation if it was the latter.

I looked at Optimus, whose chest was pressed up against my back. He looked so peaceful right now, I didn't have the heart — spark, damn, that's gonna take some getting used to — to wake him just to get some painkillers. Instead, I just put my head back on my pillow gently.

A few minutes later, Optimus stirred and his bright blue eyes opened. The sleepy look on his face made me giggle while it lasted. He let his eyes adjust before looking at me lovingly. I blushed and buried my face in his neck.

"Good morning," he whispered. I smiled and stroked the side of his face gently.

"Good morning to you too. I'm gonna stay here for a while and let the alcohol clear my system. Can you stay with me?" I asked.

"Of course I can. I finished the mountain of paperwork on my desk, and I don't have to go to the monitors for about two hours," he replied. I sighed contently and looked him in the eye. "Last night, our conversation…" he started off. I held my breath. "Is there anything else I should know about you or your family?"

I pursed my lips and grinned. "One of my cousins is a dominatrix." He gasped before the two of us started laughing. Unfortunately, I wasn't lying and I found out the hard way. No, I don't wanna talk about it. "I love how you know what a dominatrix is, yet there are other common Earth sayings and stuff that you don't know," I said.

"After the last time one of you said something that I didn't understand, I took it upon myself to do research on human sayings and slang, as well as learn most of Earth's languages. I advised the others to do the same."

I lifted an eyebrow. "So, can you curse someone out in three plus different languages?"

"Not like you can, sweetspark," he replied. I laughed again and he smiled at me warmly.

"Ratchet and Ironhide would be proud." I stared at him for a while and we lay in silence. Eventually, I had to ask him a question. "Do you have a holoform for your bipedal?"

"Ratchet is still working on it. He said it should be done soon."

"Define 'soon.'"

"Seven months to be exact." My jaw dropped as I choked back a laugh.

"How the hell is that 'soon?' That's next May!" I exclaimed.

"He originally said another ten months, but he was able to accomplish more than he thought he would. He's quite pleased with himself."

I sighed and grinned before I realized how loud we were talking. It was normal conversation volume level, but it brought no ache to my head. I guess it was Allspark. Whatever he/she does has caused the pain to be off and on until the final part of the transformation of the specific body part. It's a lot to understand, but that was the simplified explanation if you ask me.

"My headache's gone. But Sam's… oh, we gotta get up right now." I threw the covers off my body and quickly bounded into the bathroom. "Sam's got a hangover!" I called out. "This is awesome! Today _cannot _be a Monday because it's already a good day!"

From the bedroom, I heard Optimus laugh again. "I will give you your privacy." I blew a kiss at him and shut the bathroom door. After shoving a toothbrush in my mouth and brushing my teeth furiously, I stripped down and took the quickest shower on record. From there, I put on my deodorant, lotion, and finally, my clothes. I grabbed my cell phone and bounded out of the door to a waiting Optimus. I skipped over to his waiting hand.

"It feels too good to be a Monday! It just can't, can't, can't be a Monday!" I sang. It was an actual song that I wrote back in ninth grade when we were assigned to write songs in orchestra. It wasn't the ideal song that our teacher had in mind, considering it wasn't chorus, but he was amused and I got an A.

Optimus chuckled as he lifted me up to his shoulder. After I climbed on, I started doing a goofy dance, grinning like an idiot. "The sun's so bright, it's gonna be a good night. 'Cause today isn't Monday! Ah, cha cha cha!" As Optimus walked the halls, a lot of soldiers and Autobots looked at me singing and dancing on his shoulder. Some of them clapped and others just laughed, but I was having a pretty good time. We passed Mikaela in the hall and she just pointed behind her, knowing where we were going.

"Hey Optimus, can I get a ride too? I kinda wanna see this," Mikaela asked, smirking malevolently. A mischievous glint filled my bright eyes and bright platinum white hair filled my vision. Wherever that piece of hair was, it had been moved from my amazing dancing skills.

"Hehehe, ride," I muttered. "You wanna go to the after party? Well, come on down — up! We're gonna have a lot of fun! 'Cause today just isn't Monday!" I broke out into song again as Optimus knelt down and offered Mikaela his palm. I grinned at her and we high fived when she got to his shoulder.

"What did Sam do to make you so angry?" Optimus asked. I sighed happily; he would always be able to see through me. The only real reason for my doing this was Sam harassing me last night. Additionally, he broke the promise he made when we were fourteen. He promised that he would never get drunk in front of me because I had an issue with that due to a rough past. And of course, like an idiot, he drinks ten cups and questions me about my sex life and the somewhat traumatic plane crash I experienced two or three years prior to making the promise.

"He broke a promise. I take promises very seriously."

Mikaela snickered and grinned when we got to Sam's room. When we got to the floor, I could hear Sam groaning behind it, but it was slightly muffled. "Sam?" I asked quietly, trying not to snicker along with Mikaela.

"Go away, I know why you're here," he said loudly. I was sure that he was going to regret that in the next two and a half seconds.

"I just wanna make sure you're okay. You're my brother and I love you." I could barely hold in my laugh. I do love Sam, but I would never say it that way.

"If you did, you wouldn't be here right now. I'm not letting you in." I sighed and my hand glowed brightly. I could do more with Allspark's power after some testing. The orbs pierced metal easily for an obvious reason: heat. Ratchet told me that considering how easily the orbs went through metal, even Cybertronian metal, that it was at least 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. So it could put a hole in a door just as easily.

Using the heat coming from my hand, I put a basketball sized hole in the door and gently put my hand through it, searching for the door knob from the other side. Then, once I found it, I unlocked it and quietly opened the door. I didn't want Sam to know that I was in his room just yet, so I looked at Mikaela and put my finger over my lips to tell her to be as quiet as possible. She nodded and we tiptoed over to Sam's bed.

The freshman had his head under his pillow, his sheets hanging off of his bed and body loosely. When I was right beside him, I bent over right next to his ear. "HOW 'BOUT THAT PARTY LAST NIGHT?!" I bellowed. Sam jumped and rolled off of his bed, clutching his head in pain. Mikaela and I began guffawing at Sam's expense as he sat up and glared at both of us. This time, he was pretty close to the Judy/Spade Witwicky glare, and it bothered me a little.

"Get. _Out._" His words came out in a growl. Mikaela put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud anymore.

"Hmm. Killjoy. Come on, Mikaela. There are other people to harass," I said, walking out the door. She followed me and shut the door behind her and that was when I really took the time to notice the hole I put in it. Optimus was still there waiting for us and he had amusement sparkling in his glowing, blue optics.

"Now Spade, was that really necessary? I'm sure Sam would like to ride out his headache in peace," Optimus scolded me lightly. I knew he thought it was funny too, though.

"Of course it was! Nobody told him to drink ten cups worth of alcohol!" I replied.

Optimus sighed but looked at me with understanding and knelt down. "You said there were 'other people to harass.' And by other people, you mean—"

"Our dearest Major Lennox. I would, but his family's here and that wouldn't be very nice. Plus, I don't wanna be kicked off the base. I already put a hole in the damn door." Mikaela snickered beside me and crossed her arms over her chest.

As she did, the Prime's optics brightened. "Ah, yes. The Lennoxes arrived sometime last night. They are waiting in the main hangar for the Major to greet them.

"He hasn't seen them yet?" Mikaela gasped. "Oh, he's in a lot of trouble. Hopefully, his wife won't notice his hangover."

"Hopefully, she will. But, it's precisely why I have decided through careful thinking and the goodness of my heart — spark. Ah, goddammit! You know what I mean. I'm not gonna bother him," I said as I looked up at Optimus. "Hey, babe, I think we're gonna walk to the main hangar. I hate do that to you, you know."

Optimus smiled and nodded before rising to his full height. "We have to train you today, Spade. Don't forget."

"As if I would ever," I said nervously. I forgot to go training one time and ended up being fifteen minutes late. Needless to say, Ironhide was pissed. Optimus chuckled as I waved and Mikaela and I walked away. As we entered the main hangar, I noticed that it was mostly empty. Only a few soldiers were walking around, either patrolling or talking. Then, I looked over and saw Sarah and Annabelle looking around and talking to each other. When the three-year-old girl saw me, she beamed and sprinted in my direction.

"Spadey!" she yelled as she ran. I chuckled at that. Now, there were three people who could actually call me that and get away with it. I opened my arms for her, shocked that she liked me this much after one introduction.

"Hey, Annabelle!" I replied. She ran into me, nearly knocking me over and Sarah, Mikaela, and I began laughing. "She's adorable." This was weird for me. I don't normally gush over children, but Annabelle was an exception for some reason.

"Hey Mikaela, this is Sarah Lennox," I said, grinning at the three-year-old. Sarah held out her hand and Mikaela shook. Both of them had warm smiles plastered on their faces.

"She's fond of you, Spade. All this morning, she could only talk about how excited she was to see some specific people again."

"And who could they be?" I smiled down at the wild ball of energy in my arms.

"You, Daddy, and Uncle 'Hide!" she replied. My jaw dropped at the last name. 'Hide'? No way…

"Me, your daddy, and Uncle who?" I asked.

"Uncle 'Hide!"

"'Hide as in Ironhide?" Mikaela asked. I craned my neck to look at her and saw that she was on the verge of laughing.

"Mmm-hmm. He's visited the house a few times. Annabelle loves him and he loves her. And so does Chromia," Sarah said, her warm smile appearing. At the sound of a powerful engine, I turned around and saw Annabelle's favourite mech. Before Ironhide transformed, Lennox hopped out with a barely noticeable grimace on his face. His hangover was still present. The little girl squealed and immediately ran over to her two favourite males.

"Daddy! Uncle 'Hide!" Ironhide transformed as soon as he heard the girl's voice and Lennox flinched before a grin spread across his face.

"Hey, Anna! I missed you so much!" Lennox replied. Mikaela awwed beside me as Annabelle gave her father a kiss on his cheek. After that, she left his arms and tried to wrap her arms around Ironhide's leg and planted a small kiss on the black metal. I grinned and took my phone out of my back pocket, snapping a few pictures. I swore that if the Cybertronians could blush, 'Hide would be beet red.

"Oh, my God! That's so sweet!" I mocked. Ironhide spared a glance at me and glared.

"I missed you Daddy! You too, Uncle 'Hide! Where's Auntie 'Mia?" Anna said. I gazed at Optimus and thought about something. Does he want sparklings? If he does, how many? Do I want any? Whoa. It's still too early. Calm down, Spade. Take deep, though unnecessary breaths.

As if reading my mind, Mikaela asked, "Do want that, Spade? With Optimus?" I cracked a smile and glanced at the young brunette.

"I don't know yet. It's only been eleven days." Sarah frowned and crossed her arms as she walked over to us.

"Wait, you and Optimus are dating?" she asked. I nodded and my smile increased in size.

"Yep. Believe it or not, but we love each other."

"And it only took em a year and a half to realize it," a familiar Spanish accent said from behind us. I turned around and saw Leo.

"Primus, Leo! I haven't talked to you in forever!" I replied. "I haven't seen you in forever, either. And how did you know that?"

"Well, I was kind of eavesdropping last night. Sorry." I shrugged my shoulders and turned to fully face him.

"Oh, Sarah, this is Leo. Leo, Sarah," I introduced the two. Sarah held out her hand and Leo shook it.

"Leonardo Ponce de Leon Spitz," he corrected me, looking at Sarah the same way he looked at me, Mikaela, and Alice.

"Sarah Lennox," she replied. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms across my chest.

"As in Major Lennox's wife. She's off limits, Leo," I told him. Leo finally let go of her hand and sighed sadly. "Idiot," I murmured.

"Oh well. I gotta go finish packing," Leo said dejectedly, walking away slowly. I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Packing? Packing for what?" I asked.

"Gotta go back to college tomorrow." Oh. "Lennox said he told our professors about why we weren't there for the past, like, week. It's been fun, Spade." He continued to walk away and I let him go this time. Turning back to Optimus, I made my way to him, allowing the Lennoxes (and Ironhide) their family time.

"Optimus?" The mech in question looked down at me and knelt down with his hand out. I stepped onto it carefully as he brought his hand up to the large table that the monitors were on.

"Is something wrong, Spade?" he asked. I sighed and looked him in the optic.

"Yeah. I forgot about college. Leo's already packing his stuff." Optimus' optics widened before he frowned deeply.

"It slipped my processors. Sam should be going back as well."

"What about Mikaela?"

"Major Lennox offered her a job as a mechanic here on base. She'll help fix their vehicles and assist Ratchet with his medical duties."

I smirked at that, but it faded quickly. Should I go back to college and finish what I started? Get a degree in music or something like that? Or should I stay here? Spend time with the mechs and people I love and help fight against the Decepticons and save the world and…? It's no-brainer.

"Spade? Do you want to go back to college?" Optimus asked. There was worry in his voice and in his optics. This warmed my heart — oh, my God; I'll never get it right — spark.

I sighed deeply and pondered for a while. "Yeah." Optimus looked heartbreakingly saddened and I felt a little guilty. Then I grinned. "So I can get the rest of my stuff and bring it here." His holoform appeared next to me. The next thing I knew, I was being bear-hugged. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck. "There's no way that I'm gonna leave you guys. I can't do that. Especially not to you, Orion," I whispered. Optimus tightened his hold.

Eventually, he pulled back and cupped my cheek, kissing me intensely. I kissed him back and ran my fingers through his hair lovingly. "I love you, Spade. Thank you, for staying here with us."

"I love you, too." I looked over and saw Mikaela grinning up at us evilly with her cellphone out. It didn't take a genius to know what she was doing. I created an orb and threatened to throw it at her, but Optimus grabbed my wrist and smiled at me with a scolding look in his eyes.

"Spade," he warned. I pouted and my hand ceased to glow.

"I was only going to shoot the phone." I laughed and scanned the area, only to see that the Lennoxes were gone.

"Major Lennox escorted his family to their room. Sarah and Annabelle will be residing in the same room for the next week."

"Annabelle already loves me and I don't know why. So until I can think of a better reason, I'm gonna blame it on Allspark." Optimus chuckled and moved some hair out of my face.

"What more can you do?" I giggled lightly and kissed him again. A loud beeping from the monitor caught our attention. The holoform disappeared as Optimus' bipedal was typing at the Cybertronian sized monitor.

"What's happening?" I asked, panic noticeable in my voice.

"We're under attack! Autobots, defend the base!" Optimus yelled. My hands glowed as I prepared for the upcoming fight. Before anything could really happen, the base shook and the lights went out. There was a sound, like a machine powering down. It reminded me of what happened in the forest a few days ago and it made me sick.

"I'm scared of the dark!"

"What the hell is 'goin on here?!"

"Make sure all civilians are in a safe place!"

"The lights are out! How do you expect us to do that?"

I created an orb and used it as a light source to find the nearest wall. The electricity in the hangars ran through the walls. If I could get to them, I could use Allspark's power to reboot the hangar.

The Autobots used their insanely bright lights to illuminate the hangar. I sighed in relief and jumped down from the table, landing perfectly on my feet. Then, I ran over to the nearest wall and concentrated on Allspark's power. It was the first time I'd ever done this on such a large scale, but it was worth it. When my hands glowed, I put them on the wall and directed energy into the power lines beneath. At first, the lights and other electronics flickered on, but eventually, the finally came on altogether. I sighed at the loss of that much energy, but regained my strength quickly.

"That's better," Lennox said. "Find all the civilians on base and get em to the safe room, excluding Spade." I perked up in surprise. This was it. This would be my first real battle against the Decepticons.

"Spade." I turned around and faced Optimus.

"Remember what we taught you and be careful."

I nodded and said, "Don't die again. Because I'll kill you." I ran off and created four orbs. They hovered in front of me as the Decepticons attacked. It looked as if this was their entire army, but I didn't see Megatron anywhere. While I was surprised, I didn't expect to see him any time soon. Based on what Optimus said about the battle in Egypt, he was pretty injured and it would take a while for him to recover fully. Three Seekers, including Starscream himself, fired several missiles at the base. Before I could fire at them, they flew overhead and out of my view.

Instead, I focused on the grounders. I used an orb to attack the nearest Decepticon. It pierced his spark chamber and offlined him for good. I repeated this process five more times before I heard the sound of jet engines.

Starscream landed in front of me, sneering as six 'Cons surrounded me. I gulped and looked at the Seeker. "Hmm… Spade, is it? Prime's new femme… Speaking of which, have you heard from Elita? The poor femme must be sparkbroken," he mocked. "I don't understand why people keep talking about you, honestly. Sure, you have the Allspark's power, but I'm sure you should be able to do more than shoot a few orbs and make a few shields. Pathetic." Starscream dusted his shoulder and gestured to the 'Cons with a single hand.

The Decepticons aimed their weapons at me, waiting for Starscream's command. I growled as my hands began to glow. "Where's Megatron?" I asked. "Too much of a coward to fight his own battles?"

Starscream snarled and yelled, "How dare you disrespect Lord Megatron, fleshing? Fire!"

I created a shield just as all six 'Cons fired, a giant orb-like one that surrounded my entire body. The shots were absorbed and I felt a surge of energy, unlike any other surge that I've felt in the past. Taking the shield and morphing it into a large, beach ball-sized orb, I threw out my arms and a wave of hot, blue energy spread out in all directions. This was an entirely new move, one that I didn't even know I could actually do. "Disrespect? _You're_ the backstabbing traitor!"

In a bright flash of bluish-white light, all of the surrounding 'Cons were dead. Except for Starscream of course. He was hovering with his thrusters, blood red optics wide with shock. They optics dimmed for a second before he roared, "Decepticons, retreat!"

I frowned and watched as the three Seekers, including Starscream, took off with the remaining grounders. What did they come for? I ran back into the base and looked around. There were a few injured soldiers, but it seemed as if besides that, everyone was fine. Optimus walked into the hangar and we made brief eye/optic contact. There was a short unspoken conversation between that contact and we both knew that there was _something _wrong.

Major Lennox walked into the hangar shortly after the battle was over. He surveyed the hangar and saw that the damage was minimal. He then put his hand to his ear and spoke into the earpiece he wore. "Are the civilians alright? How many casualties? Good. Have everyone that isn't injured meet in the main hangar immediately.

Eventually, several soldiers and Autobots began to file in and we began our discussion. How did they find us? Why did the Decepticons retreat like that? Huh, maybe it _is_ Monday.

* * *

**-at the temporary Decepticon base-**

Megatron watched the video feed of the attack with interest. His main focus was on Prime's femme, Spade Witwicky, adoptive sister of that wretched boy, Samuel James Witwicky. The leader snarled when the white-haired femme managed to kill six of his soldiers in a single blow, totaling eleven. Soundwave walked up and kneeled in front of his master.

"It appears this femme is more of threat than we thought," the TIC said solemnly.

"Then we'll get rid of her," Megatron growled.

"Is that really the best solution, master?" Soundwave replied. "She is the vessel of the Allspark. We could use her for its energy."

"No," a new voice said. "As a living, sentient vessel, there is no way to extract it, to harness it." A single red optic glowed darkly. "The Allspark has infused her body and has taken over. If we try to remove it, it will kill her, thus killing the Allspark."

"Ah, Shockwave. It has been a while," Megatron drawled as he frowned. "That means there is no way to get the Allspark's energy?"

"I'm afraid not, my Lord."

"Then we'll just eliminate her. Let's see how Prime functions without his little femme."

Another new voice chimed in. "We have the means to do it." The three mechs turned around and narrowed their optics at the newcomer. "She's already attached; she'll come for the human eventually. We'll kill her then."

"And if that plan fails?"

Blue optics narrowed. "We have the original plan. Once the last shard is found, we will win this war easily."

Megatron titled his helm back and laughed. "See to it that it does. You're leaving tomorrow. Soundwave, keep an optic on the Seekers and make sure they don't know what's really happening here." He looked at the gagged human laying inside the cage made specifically for her. "Get ready, Prime. This next battle will be your femme's last."

* * *

**I actually had this chapter done the day I posted chapter three, so I think I'll be the one suffering because I really wanted to post the chapter on the same day. Oh well. See you next Wednesday! Countdown: 9 days.**

**Denali Prime out!**


	5. Have You Seen This Blonde? Pt1

**Chapter 5- Have You Seen This Blonde? Pt.1**

**Well, it's Wednesday again! And guess what?! Age of Extinction comes out this Friday! Whoo! I'm gonna try and see it the first day it comes out, even though I know that'll be pretty hard. Lot of Transformers fans out there.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**-Sunday, the day of the attack-**

"Everyone's here. The worst injury we have is a dislocated shoulder. Why the hell would they retreat?" Lennox growled, ruffling his spiky hair roughly.

"Annabelle and Sarah are fine. So are Sam, Leo, and Mikaela. But something happened. I think they planned it out that way. I've noticed that when the Autobots get a private comm, their optics dim. Right before Starscream called a retreat, his optics dimmed and he looked distant," I explained.

Everyone in the room remained silent. Now, instead of all of the soldiers and Autobots, we just had a few in what we considered the meeting room. Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet, Lennox, Epps, and I were present. "That could mean something," Optimus said. "They might have put their plan in action when the power was shut down."

"So, what are we going to do?" We all looked to Optimus. The mech sat quietly, deep in thought.

"With the little information we have, there is nothing that we can do, except make sure Sam and Leo remain here until we have this figured out. Find them and let them know."

"I'll do it," I volunteered. "I need to talk to Sam anyway." Optimus nodded and we were dismissed.

**(INSERT LINE HERE)**

**-Monday-**

The next day, Lennox and Optimus had a private conversation discussing yesterday's attacks. We were on edge, but nothing else has happened yet. It was only a matter of time, however.

After leaving the makeshift meeting room, I went to Sam's room to talk to him and found someone there replacing his door. He had curly yet neat black hair that was graying along the edges. He looked to be about six feet tall and I was proud to say that I was two inches taller than him. He had light blue eyes and a neatly trimmed mustache and beard. His muscles weren't as defined as the holoforms of most of the 'Bots, but he still looked pretty strong. Honestly, he was a little attractive, but I was already taken. And by the way he was looking at me now, I wouldn't want to date him anyway. I smiled at him uneasily and stopped by the door.

"Hi."

The man laughed humorlessly and continued his work. "You're the bitch that put a hole through the door, huh?"

I glared at him harshly. "Keep talkin' to me like that, and you'll be the next thing I put a hole in, asshole," I snarled. My eyes and hands glowed brightly, so I took a few breaths to calm down. Then, I scoffed and looked at his name tag. It said Richard Gould, maintenance. I'd never seen this man on base in the past. Maybe he's new or something.

"Well next time, don't put a hole in the door just to fuck with a guy with a hangover."

"What are you gonna do about it? Do you know who you're dealin' with?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot. The college dropout with an alien freak for a boyfriend." I lunged at the man and pinned him down on the ground. He grunted as I lay on top of his body and pulled his arm back, twisting it angrily. He cried out and tried to move, but I didn't let him.

"I don't care what you say about me, but you will _not_ badmouth Optimus. Take it back! He's fighting for you! And if anybody, you're the freak! How come I've never seen you here before, huh?" I twisted again and smirked at the cry he gave out. I bent down and growled into his ear. "Take. It. Back."

"Spade! What the hell are you doing?" I whipped around and saw Sam standing behind me.

"How long have you been there?"

"Get off of him! He's only here to fix the damn door!"

"He deserves this, Sam!"

"Don't make me get Optimus!" Sam warned. I stopped and gave him a hard look.

"You wouldn't." Sam pulled his cellphone out of his pocket.

"Try me." I sighed and got off of the man grudgingly. When I turned to leave, I gave him one last glare before creating an orb and aiming it at the new door. It was small, so it only put a hole in the door, which was what I wanted. We walked off and Sam gave the man a sympathetic look.

"Oh, don't look at him like that. If you knew what he said, you'd be defending me. Anyone who says disses the 'Bots disses me. What would you have done?" I retorted.

"You need to stop harassing people. You've been doing that a lot lately."

"So that means nothing? And here I thought you would help me out with this. You don't know what he said. I'm not gonna take it lightly."

"You know what? I don't even wanna know." He walked away, leaving me alone in the hallway. I sighed and went to find Leo. Deep down, I knew that Sam was right. I didn't know if it was anger issues or overprotectiveness. Hell, if it was both, I was screwed. But it was all for good reason. Right?

* * *

**-Tuesday-**

The attack kept everyone on their toes. It seemed as if more and more of the people on base were aware that there was still something wrong. Of course, I was about to lose my mind over what it was. The situation had me constantly thinking about what the 'Cons could have done. Yet, everything seemed fine. Annabelle and Sarah were okay when I spoke with them, even though the former was acting strangely. I decided that it was due to the recent attacks. She was only three, so she was probably still scared.

Sam and Leo were fine as well. Leo was back to flirting with the female soldiers on base and Sam was sad because he would have to leave when he really didn't want to. Mikaela was the same. In fact, she had been training with a few soldiers so she could defend herself if need be. Her new job as the head mechanic on base thrilled her and she wanted to make sure that she could meet the standards as perfectly as possible. Well, I think she just wants to impress Ratchet.

When my training was done, I went patrolling with Bumblebee. Since I was currently ten percent Autobot, I was given Autobot duties. He and I were looking out for the trouble that most of us were expecting.

"You alright there, lil lady?" Bumblebee asked using a combination of his voice and something from a radio station. I shook my head and smiled up at him.

"I'm fine, just worried is all. Something bad's gonna happen," I replied. In response, Bumblebee played an excerpt from the Dragnet theme. It suited the situation perfectly, causing me to laugh.

"We'll be ready. We have the Allspark's power!" he said, punching the air with a fighting stance. I laughed again and patted his leg.

"I can only do two things with Allspark's power, but thanks. I feel better," I said.

"Glad to hear it!" Bee will always be like a brother to me. Considering his age, he and I could relate to each other easily.

A few minutes later, Chromia and another soldier were there to trade off with Bee and I. As I entered the main hangar, I caught sight of Annabelle. I didn't know if it was the stress or if it was the threat of an impending attack. But I swore I saw her eyes flash red.

* * *

**-Wednesday-**

It had been three days since the attack and we still had no idea as to what was wrong. Finally, some of the soldiers and 'Bots on base decided that they were only worried about the fact that the 'Cons knew where their base was and that a new base would solve their problems. Optimus, Lennox, Ironhide, and I begged to differ. Most of the others dropped the situation and Lennox sent a request to the president for a new base. It was all we could do until something actually happened.

The four of us had our doubts about the ordeal being completely over. For me, it felt as if I was being watched and I constantly looked around every five minutes to see if there was any suspicious activity that we should be concerned about. This was mainly due to the look I got from Annabelle the day before. I still wasn't sure if I was imagining things or if it was real.

Then, we got some good news. The president concluded that due to recent events and for the safety of everyone on base, we would have a new one as soon as possible. It would take time to find some place big enough for all of us, as well as actually finding a place at all. There are many requirements for the base. It had to be secluded, the building couldn't draw in any suspicion, and of course, it had to big enough. There are many more that I don't feel like naming because it would make the wait seem longer.

My thoughts are still being plagued by the idea of another attack, but I tried to drop it and live my life as if it happened, but wouldn't happen again, no matter how foolish the idea was. It was only this that kept me from losing my mind over what could happen, yet might not happen. And I felt better after that.

And then I saw her. Glaring at me…

* * *

**-Thursday-**

I was on the way to the training room when I got the text from Sarah. Based on what it said, I could practically see the worry on her face. I turned on my heels and made my way to her and Annabelle's room. Gently knocking on the door, I waited for a few short seconds before it was opened. Sarah looked relieved and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her gently.

"There's something wrong with Annabelle," she whispered. "Ever since the attack, she's been acting strangely. I thought that she was scared, and that that was the only reason for her behaviour, but I looked at her a few minutes ago and I swore I saw red in her eyes."

I tensed and looked at the door. "Have you told Will?" I asked. Saying his first name seemed foreign to me.

"He's been so busy lately. I knew I could trust you to tell him in case anything happened," she replied, her hushed tone worrying me even more.

"I will. Can I talk to her?" Sarah nodded and stepped to the side, allowing me to enter. I went in and saw Annabelle sitting on a couch, watching Dora the Explorer. When she heard me close the door, her head turned almost robotically to look at me. The flash of red was back and I knew now that I didn't imagine it. "Hi, Annabelle," I said gently, forcing a smile.

The three-year-old didn't respond, but kept her attention on me. "How have you been?"

Again, I was greeted with silence, other than the annoying ramblings of the monkey on the TV. I picked up the remote that was sitting on the table and muted the TV, sighing in relief when the noise was gone. Annabelle still made no move to stop me, nor did she object to my actions. Something was definitely wrong.

"Anna?" I asked, moving closer to her. Her eyes followed me and the glare that she gave me yesterday was back, sending chills down my spine. When I put my hand on her bare shoulder, it was warm — no, burning _hot _— and I recoiled at the sensation. No human should be this warm and it led me to believe that this person wasn't.

This was the problem. It was Annabelle. They took her? Oh, God, if they did, what would they do to her? She's a child, only three years into her life! Do the 'Cons have any boundaries? I hoped that I was wrong, but there was no other explanation. Swallowing hard, I unmuted the TV and exited the room, giving Sarah a look that she understood immediately.

Making my way to Optimus' office, I texted him to let him know that I knew what the problem was and I needed to speak to Lennox and Ironhide as well. When I got there, I knocked on the human sized door and he came out of the Autobot sized door, kneeling down to gently pick me up. He sat me on his desk and to my surprise, Lennox and Ironhide were already present. I stood next to Lennox on Prime's desk and looked at all three of them solemnly.

"Guys, Will… It's Annabelle. The problem, the something… it's her," I started off bluntly. I could see the spark of anger in Ironhide's optics. "The 'Cons took her on Sunday and replaced her with a pretender. If you don't believe me you can ask Sarah what she saw."

Lennox looked as if he was ready to explode. "You expect me to believe that? Would Megatron stoop so low as to capture a _child_?"

"Megatron's cruelty knows no bounds. It explains everything. And that gives us some information. Megatron sent Starscream and his trine to get Annabelle. That means that either she has not been harmed or she has and the Seekers are being kept in the dark about it."

"How do we know that?" Lennox asked. He was on the verge of breaking down.

"Seeker programming makes them protective of sparklings, be them Cybertronian or human. They wouldn't dare harm Annabelle, being that she is only three years into her lifespan. Even to us, she is still a sparkling. If it's the latter, then we can use that to our advantage. They would sooner turn against Megatron and personally bring Annabelle back than continue to fight with the mech that harmed her in the first place. Megatron is fully aware of Seeker programming so it most likely is the latter."

I gulped and looked at Lennox. I didn't know if he was going to cry or try to punch the nearest object. Hell, this is his daughter we're talking about. It could be both. He took a few deep breaths and put his hands on his hips before looking up at Optimus. "So what do we do? We don't know where their base is."

"First, we'll have to deal with the pretender. An interrogation is in order," the Prime replied. He stood up and looked between me, Ironhide, and Lennox. "Ironhide and I will handle the interrogation. Major Lennox, if you want to join us, you may."

"Can I go? In case the pretender puts up a fight?" I asked. Optimus nodded as I jumped from the table and landed on my feet swiftly, using the human sized door to head to Sarah and Annabelle's room. With the holoforms of Optimus and Ironhide behind me and Lennox beside me, the four of us stopped outside of the room. "Um, who's gonna break this to Sarah if I'm right?" I asked nervously. The four of us looked at each other, all of our looks saying 'it's not gonna be me.' After a two-minute-four-way stare down, Lennox sighed and said that he would do it.

"She's my daughter and Sarah's my wife. I should be the one to do it. But what if we're wrong?"

Sarah chose that time to step out of the room. "You have to do something, Will. That is _not _the girl I gave birth to three years ago." Sarah snapped. The three males jumped and Lennox looked at his wife with wide eyes. "Will…"

"We're gonna handle it, Sarah. I promise," the Major said. His wife crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. He walked over to her and gently put a kiss on her forehead.

"Please, Will. I miss our daughter." The four of us nodded and I led the way inside the room. "Annabelle" was still on the floor, doing the same thing she did the last time I was in here. An abandoned sock monkey lay on the couch next to her.

"Anna?" Lennox asked quietly. She rigidly brought her attention to us, that same terrifying look in her eyes. "Can I talk to you?" Again, she said nothing. And that's when Ironhide jumped in.

"Listen, Decepticon. I don't know what you've done with Annabelle, but you better tell us or—" A hand clamped over his mouth and the rest of his words were muffled. I looked at Ironhide and glared.

"You say nothing! _We _will handle this! If that really is Annabelle, you can't just threaten her like that, no matter how unlikely that is!" I hissed. When I turned around, "Annabelle" was smirking, much to my surprise. "But… you aren't Annabelle, are you?"

She stood up and faced us with her feet right next to each other and her hands by her sides. Suddenly, she reached into her pocket and sent a shuriken our way. With lightning fast reflexes, I created a shield and the projectile bounced off of it harmlessly. Ironhide growled audibly.

"Prime…"

"Don't kill the pretender. It knows what they did with Annabelle," Optimus ordered. I nodded and a new shield was created, another orb shaped one that completely covered the pretender's body. I turned the shield upside down, causing the pretender to fall over and closed it all the way. It was now holding it, preventing its escape.

"Who are you and what the hell have you done with Annabelle?!"

* * *

Annabelle wriggled in her cage as she finally awakened. She blinked a few times, taking in her surroundings and finally noticing the blood red optics staring at her. Her abrupt screams were muffled by the gag in her mouth.

"Quiet, femme!" Megatron snapped. He roughly shook her cage, only managing to make her scream louder. The three-year-old was terrified. Where were her parents? Where was Uncle 'Hide or Auntie 'Mia? Where was Spade? Who are these mechs? She scooted back into a corner of the cage and curled up into a little ball, her screams dying out.

Soundwave looked at the femme emotionlessly. "The pretender has reported in. He has been discovered, Lord Megatron."

The Decepticon leader smirked evilly. "Excellent. Make sure our other… visitor doesn't leave the base just yet."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Don't worry child. You're precious Autobots will be here soon."

* * *

"Where is she?! Where the fuck is she?!" Lennox roared, glaring at the trapped pretender. Between him and Ironhide, their glares were enough to melt steel.

"You think I'll tell you human?" the pretender mocked using his real voice.

Making sure that the shield was secured, I dropped my hands and created an orb, about the size of a jawbreaker. It was small, but when used right, it was enough to kill him. "Do you really wanna know what's gonna happen if you don't?" I said. My voice was calm, but had a deadly undertone.

The pretender scoffed and changed into his bipedal. He was still Annabelle's height, but was now made completely of metal. The jagged edges of his grey-black body were glowing from the bright light of the shield. Based on looking at him, the shurikens were his only weapons, but what did I know?

"Remember your old base, Autoscum? Megatron thanks you for it," the pretender said. My vision flashed and I could see his information. His Energon levels, his revealed energy signature, and there was a timer next to his abdomen. I frowned, listened carefully and heard ticking. Did that mean… Oh, no.

"He's gonna self-destruct! Optimus!" I yelled.

"Clear everyone out of the area!" he ordered. The holoforms disappeared as Lennox and I ran out of the room. I didn't know if the energy shields could withstand the force of a bomb and I wasn't willing to find out the hard way if they couldn't.

"Damn it. Everyone, get out! There's a bomb! Get to the beaches! Panicked soldiers began to run. I joined them and abandoned the main hangar to get to the beaches as an alarm sounded. All of the hangars were being evacuated because we didn't know how powerful the explosion would be, nor did we know what vicinity of the base would go up in flames.

The Autobots began filing out of their hangar and transformed, waiting for the pretender to explode. Seconds later, half of the main base exploded in a white hot ball of fire. The shockwave from the pretender's detonation came soon after, the force of it causing the humans to end up flying back.

I sighed and turned to look at the entire group. "Well, let's look at the bright side."

"What bright side?!" a random soldier yelled. I crossed my arms across my chest and tilted my head.

"We know where their base is. Now, we can get Annabelle back. Plus, I believe Major Lennox and Ironhide have some unfinished business with the 'Cons that took her."

Ironhide's cannons warmed up, emitting a blue glow and Lennox looked like he was ready to rip into anyone that dared cross him. "Where is it, Spade?" Lennox asked.

"The old base in Tranquility. It's obviously a trap, though." Everyone looked at me with confusion in their eyes/optics.

"How?" that same random soldier asked.

"The 'Con that blew up just now—"

"That was a 'Con?!"

"What the hell? We would have known!"

"What happened to Annabelle?!"

"MAYBE IF YOU WOULD LET ME EXPLAIN!" I snarled. The noisy soldiers quieted down and I was finally able to explain. "When the 'Cons came yesterday and the lights went out, one of them took Annabelle and replaced her with a pretender. That's why they made an early retreat. I don't know why they took her and I don't know what their plan is. But why would the pretender tell me where the Decepticons are so easily? Without hardly any resistance?"

"I believe Spade is correct." Everyone turned to the source of the deep baritone. "None of you may have noticed it, but Annabelle was acting strangely after the lights came back on. That's how Spade found out that it isn't Annabelle. Major Lennox—"

When Optimus stopped talking and looked in past me, shock evident in his features, I turned around and saw a pink sports car racing to the base. I gasped as Elita-1 transformed and looked at the half destroyed main hangar. "It appears I've missed a lot more than I thought I would," she said.

I think it's weird how she's managed to stay alive for 12 days without energon. Especially considering how low her energon levels were when she left the base. I brought my attention back to the area that was destroyed in the explosion and noticed then that said area was on fire. "Oh, my God! Someone call 911 or something!" I yelled.

* * *

Once the fire was put out, I went to my room to see how much damage there was. "Spade, is there any damage?" Lennox asked from the monitor. I opened the door and looked to my left. The bathroom, bed and everything else on that half were intact. And fortunately for me, so was my cello.

"No, not really." Then, I looked to my right and saw that one quarter of the room was… gone. "Mmm… maybe there's a _little _bit of damage. It's barely noticeable."

I walked into the bathroom, closed the door behind me, and looked at myself in the mirror. Strangely, there was no soot or ash on my face or any other part of my body. But I did smell like smoke. I won't be training today, considering half of the main hangar went to Hell about an hour ago. And took most of the training room with it. Of course, it added more fuel to Ironhide's hate fire, so when we planned and executed the rescue mission, helms were gonna roll.

Literally.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at my door. Puzzled, I took three short steps and opened it, revealing the holoform of a certain pink femme. Elita-1 stood there with… guilt in her eyes.

"Spade." Surprisingly, she didn't call me fleshing or some other insulting name. "I want to apologize for how I acted in the past. You were right. I was being selfish and stupid. Optimus deserves to be happy and you were the one making him happy."

I was beyond speechless. She was actually apologizing? I looked into her optics and decided that: either she was truly and honestly sorry or she's a damn fine actor. "I was jealous because he was my sparkmate for quite some time and… you know how femmes get."

"Oh," I replied dumbly. "Well, I forgive you, I guess." She smiled and nodded before surveying the damage done to my room.

"Barely noticeable?" she asked. I grinned as she left the room. Well, that went a lot better than I expected. Mikaela walked into my room after Elita left, frowning with slight worry on her face.

"Did she just apologize for everything that she's done to you? Including trying to kill you and blaming you for Prime's death?" she questioned. I nodded and my grin morphed into a smile.

"How did you know about that?"

"Jazz."

"Ah. Well, she had twelve days to herself to think about it. I mean…"

The brunette hummed thoughtfully as I shoved my hands into my pockets. We were silent before she said one last thing. "That bitch is gonna pull some crap."

* * *

**And that's the end of the chapter. Jeez, I have made these chapters stupid long lately. I think it's because I hate summer and I'm bored because I have nothing to do, but whatever. Two days and Age of Extinction will make the boredom go away.**

**Denali Prime out!**


	6. Have You Seen This Blonde? Pt2

**Chapter 6- Have You Seen This Blonde? Pt.2**

**The movie was awesome! Except for the fact that the humans were hunting Autobots. What they did to Ratchet… I literally cried. That stupid buttheaded, backstabbing, alien hunting, green eyed, big headed, overrated, traitorous, Lockdown. That movie made me hate being human. Honestly, it did.**

**Brief warning here: there will be violence. And that's pretty much it.**

* * *

"Mikaela!" I breathed. I was shocked that she would say something like that. But then again, no, I wasn't.

"I don't trust her," Mikaela said stubbornly. "I mean, besides the fact that she tried to kill you, I think that she's up to no good."

"I guess… as low as her energon levels were that day, she should be dead. Maybe she found a mine or something…"

"Christ, Spade!" she shouted. "Why are you defending her? You of all people?"

"She apologized! Honestly and sincerely! If there doesn't have to be any tension between us, then I'm not gonna create any by accusing her of something that we have no proof of!"

"So, you aren't suspicious at all?" Her tone suggested that she didn't believe me.

"Of course I am. I'm sure we all are. But right now, we have a child to save."

The brunette sighed in defeat as we started walking to the meeting room. We both got a text from Lennox telling us to meet in the makeshift meeting room so that we could discuss our plan for getting Annabelle out of Megatron's clutches. Of course, I knew that she had a point about Elita. And I didn't know why I was taking her side on this. But I'm not willing to believe anything without proof.

As we entered the meeting room, I noticed that all Autobots and most of the NEST soldiers were present. A good look at Lennox and Ironhide told me that we were about to kick some ass.

"Here's how this is gonna work."

* * *

Every single Autobot, except for Ratchet, and NEST soldier was present for our attack. We were heading back to Nevada and were approximately ten minutes away from the old base where the Decepticons were waiting for us. Our plan was pretty awesome actually. My job was to go with two Autobots — Jazz and Bumblebee — and infiltrate the base after both sets of Twins created a diversion near the back of the base. In order for this to work, we couldn't be spotted.

Fortunately, we had an advantage. This is our old base, so we know the grounds well enough to figure out where they're keeping Annabelle. As soon as we get the signal, the three of us are hauling ass to get to her. So when we found a decent hiding place, one that was on a cliff and covered by trees and bushes, Jazz and I were looking out for any trouble and Bumblebee was our lookout for the signal. It was a perfect plan as long as no one screwed anything up.

Then the fight began. Megatron didn't come out to fight, as he was too injured to do so. I frowned at the scene below me. They had to have a plan because they knew that we were coming. As I watched the battle, I clenched my hands and tried my best not to make any shots. That would blow our cover and ruin the entire plan.

Finally, both sets of Twins made it to the back while the rest of the violence was taking place below us. I could see that Ironhide was fighting with the most fire in his actions, alongside Chromia who was doing the same. Lennox was right next to him, rage in his eyes that wouldn't be tamed until his daughter was back in the care of their families. Their human _and _Autobot families. And even in the midst of all this, I managed to crack a smile. For them, I would personally make sure Annabelle was returned.

Bumblebee nudged me with a single digit gently, nodding at the two of us. "Alright guys," I breathed. "Let's haul ass." The three of us jumped down from the cliff and made our way to the back of the base, just as planned. It was going well until I heard the dreaded sounds of jet engines. I looked to the sky and watched as Starscream and his trinemates, Skywarp and Thundercracker, transformed and landed in front of us, weapons out and mocking smiles on their faces.

This was not part of the plan, but I had an idea to get past them. And if it went well, I might be able to get them to lead us to Annabelle. "Starscream," I said calmly, putting my hands in the air in surrender. "We didn't come here to fight. Actually, you know what we're here for. Fighting was the only way to achieve our goal: getting the three-year-old sparkling that you took away from her creators four days ago."

The Seeker sneered and said, "I'm fully aware of that, Allspark. I was there."

I sighed and put my hands down as Jazz jumped in. "Starscream, she's a sparkling, an innocent. We all know that Seeker programming doesn't allow for the three of you to harm sparklings, nor does it allow for you to stand by and watch harm come to sparklings."

"We were made aware that the child has not and will not be harmed, Autoscum," Thundercracker remarked.

"And?" I said expectantly, waiting for him to finish. "What, you trust Megatron now? Is he, of all mechs, incapable of lying to you?"

"Of course he is. But—"

I cut him off briskly. "Is that it then? Did you believe what you wanna believe? Or are you absolutely sure that Megatron didn't harm her?"

"Megatron—"

"Got most of his brains blown out in Egypt! He's insane and will do anything to win this war! What do you need me to say to you?" I snapped. The three Seekers glared at me, but I don't think that they were glaring _because _of me. They remained silent and exchanged looks between each other.

When I heard someone cocking a gun behind us, I turned around slowly, as did Jazz and Bumblebee. Three Decepticons stood in front of us, a smirk present on each of their faces. My hand began to glow. One of the Seekers snarled behind me.

"Stand down! Are any of you aware of what Megatron has done to the girl?" Starscream growled.

The Decepticons all shared a puzzled look and one of them looked nervous. "We are under strict orders from—"

"Here's how this is gonna work. You can either tell us what Megatron's done to the child, or you can die a slow, painful death," I hissed.

The one who spoke up gulped and looked at him timidly. "It's just a rumor, but supposedly, the child has not been given human nourishment since she arrived. And an 'accidental' broken limb was mentioned."

I snarled almost as viciously as the Seekers standing behind us. I turned around and looked up at Starscream expectantly. "Well?" I asked. Skywarp and Thundercracker disappeared, courtesy of the former's ability.

Starscream's blood red optics were glowing brightly, a sure sign of the pure rage he felt right now. "I'll take you to the sparkling."

And with that, he dismissed the three 'Cons and led Jazz, Bumblebee, and I to Annabelle. We went in through the back, just as planned. The base was mostly empty, a few 'Cons here and there, looking at the four of us questioningly. I was sure that Starscream's glare, combined with mine, kept them from asking any questions. Several turns and doors later, we finally arrived at the throne room. I created a large orb, about the size of a bowling ball, just in case Megatron was in there. But when the door slid open, we were greeted with the sight of an empty throne, a small group of Decepticon soldiers, and a cage with a small, deathly quiet figure lying on the ground.

The Decepticons looked startled at the sight of one of their own with two Autobots and the Allspark behind him, all glaring menacingly at the four Decepticons. I created four separate orbs and let them hover in front of me. "Okay. Since I know that the four of you will mostly likely squeal about the adventurous things that are gonna take place in this room today…" I trailed off and smirked.

At the speed of sound, I let the orbs hit their targets, nailing all four of the Decepticons in their chestplates. When they dropped to the ground, my smirk vanished as I glanced at the small bundle inside the cage. Annabelle was in horrible condition, at least for someone her age. A three-year-old needs nourishment more than someone my age, and to have gone four days without food or water? I ran over to the cage and gave her a once over.

Her skin was pale and her arms and legs, one of which looked severely out of place, looked thinner than what they looked like the day she was taken. I examined the broken leg closely, putting my hands on the bar of the cage. My hands began to glow, the heat radiating from the Allspark's energy melting the bars in seconds. I gently pulled Annabelle out of the cage and cradled her in my arms. To my relief, she stirred and her eyes opened slowly to look at the person holding her. I sighed and stroked the side of her face.

Her eyes lit up when she saw who I was. "Spadey?" she asked weakly. I sighed again and shushed her.

"It's gonna be okay. We're gonna get you out of here," I reassured her.

"My leg hurts," she whined.

"I know. I know. When we get you back to the base, Ratchet's gonna fix you up and you can see your parents again and Uncle 'Hide and Auntie 'Mia. Don't worry. You're gonna be fine."

I nodded at Starscream as the five of us began to exit the room. The Seeker nodded as well and went in a different direction. "Did one of you comm Optimus and let him know that we have her?" I asked.

Jazz nodded and grinned. "Already taken care of. Prime says they're waitin' on us, but the fight ain't over just yet."

I couldn't help but grin back. "Great."

We took Annabelle out of the room and made way for the exit. Suddenly, there was evil, maniacal laughing coming from behind us. I already knew who it was. I turned around slowly and was greeted by the sight of Megatron, a yellowish-whitish cowl covering half his face.

"Congratulations, femme. You managed to retrieve your lost sparkling, infiltrate my base, and turn my Seekers against me. I hope you know that that comes with a price."

"Are we listing the terrible things that we've done to each other? Well for one, there was that time you blew up half of one of our hangars. And then there was that time you kidnapped a three-year-old. And before that, there was the time you attacked _our _base. And before that — need I go on?" I replied, glaring holes into his body.

He merely smirked and looked at Jazz and Bumblebee. "You two, leave the femme."

"No fraggin' way," Jazz snarled in response. My jaw clenched as I tried to figure out his plan.

"I'm not asking, Autobot. Either you take the child and leave with your lives or I kill all four of you now."

"We're not goin' down without a fight."

"Jazz." He looked at me as I craned my head to look at him. "I can handle this. Take Annabelle and go."

"Spade, are you out of your mind? As your partner, it's part of my job description to make sure that all of us get out of here in one piece. How do you think Prime'll feel if you get killed because we decided to leave you?" Jazz snapped. I shook my head and motioned for Bumblebee to lower his hand.

"I'll be fine. Just go," I said calmly, laying Annabelle down in Bee's hand gently.

"Spade!"

"_Go! _Make sure everyone leaves the base now._" _The silver mech stared at me for a while, before he sighed in defeat and looked at Bee. Jazz has always been able to read people. Hopefully, he noticed that the look in my eyes meant that I have a plan. The three of them left while I faced Megatron. "Why did you want me?" I asked.

"So I can kill you," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Believe it or not, Allspark, but you are a threat to us. And if you die, Prime will be destroyed." He warmed up his fusion cannon and aimed it at me.

I stared at the barrel of the weapon as my hands began to glow. This is a move that I've never tried, but it was my best shot for right now. "Say goodbye, Allspark."

"Not today," I growled. That's when he fired. I shot an orb up the barrel of his weapon, creating a shield after it was fired. When the shots collided, it created a huge explosion that really made me hope that Jazz figured out that I had a plan. It was extremely risky and stupid, but that's just me. I waited for the shockwave to pass through and let some of the smoke clear up before I let the shield go away. Megatron was down, but I didn't know if he was dead. This was payback for the destruction of a good part of our base, as well as a last minute resort and escape plan.

The smoke was blinding me, causing most of my vision to be filled with the poufy black substance. I tried to run and successfully ran into a wall, groaning when I landed on the floor. I'm sure it would have been pretty comical if the circumstances were a little better. I had a few seconds before Optimus would come barging into the base to see if I'd survived, before going to Jazz and Bumblebee to chew them out for letting me do something so stupid. Thankfully, I had a wall that I could use to guide myself to a spot where the smoke wasn't so thick.

Going back to the wall, I placed my hands on it and walked away from the scene carefully. And at long last, I saw a light. I was hoping it wasn't the bad light that you aren't supposed to go to. But it wasn't, thankfully. With a facial expression that would break the heart of even Galloway, Optimus was staring at the scene despondently. I walked a little faster before breaking out in a sprint, but then slowed down to make my exit a little more dramatic.

And when he saw me, when the others saw me, there was relief mixed with brief anger for my valiant act of utter stupidity. I shook my head violently to try and get rid of the soot, dust, and ash that was probably in my hair and rubbed my face with my shirt before smiling sheepishly at the Autobots and NEST soldiers. At that moment, there was a loud wave of applause coming from the group. Everyone, even Elita was cheering, for that… valiant act of utter stupidity. I knew that while they were cheering now, my ears would be chewed off later.

A pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I smiled and met eyes with Optimus' holoform, who still looked worried, pissed, and happy. The second one seemed to outweigh the other two. "I know," I said. "What I did was incredibly stupid and I could have died, but I didn't. Let's look at the bright side. At least we got Annabelle back and Megatron might be dead. _Might_." I emphasized the word 'might' because I was sure that there was a good sixty percent chance that he survived. "So you know what we should do? We should just go back to the base because we all kicked ass during this battle! It was a team effort!" I yelled at everyone, bringing forth more cheer and applause. This time, it was for all of us.

Optimus grinned at me and said, "You are in so much trouble."

"I know. Sorry."

* * *

**And that's the end of the chapter! See you next Wednesday for the final chapter and the next story. Luckily, I've already started on the former and finished the first chapter to the latter.**

**Denali Prime out!**


	7. Birthday

**Chapter 7- Birthday**

**Warning: This is the slash chapter that I have been holding off for the past two stories. It's explicit and there are… words… and it's probably very sucky because I like to read slash. I know, that makes practically no sense, but it does. When I read slash, it makes me think "how can people write this and not feel awkward?" I mainly think that for the authors that **_**only**_** write slash. Hate writing it almost as much as I hate talking about where babies come from with my parents. So, there you go. I winced, giggled, or facepalmed while writing this chapter due to its content.**

***sighs***

**Try to enjoy the chapter. I'm not gonna force you to. **

**(Spade's official day of birth: May 1, 1989)**

* * *

It's been six months since Annabelle's capture. Three months after that battle, three new Autobots came to Earth. Their names were Prowl, Wheeljack, Sunstreaker, and Mirage. Prowl is Prime's SIC with the universe's greatest battle computer and an amusing glitching problem. I watched an episode of Spongebob Squarepants with the SIC, just to see him glitch from the lack of logic in the cartoon and it was as funny as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker said it would be. He wasn't only one that thought that it made no sense for Mr. Krabs to have a whale as a daughter when he himself is a crab.

Sunstreaker is Sideswipe's twin that pranked everyone on base and got on Ratchet's nerves the most. He was also a wicked frontliner that kicked some ass on the battlefield. Wheeljack is the inventor. I'd heard many stories from several 'Bots on base regarding 'Jack and his inventions. After hearing them, I knew that I would be guaranteed at least one explosion per day. And last but not least, Mirage. He's the spy/kickass 'Bot that has invisibility "powers".

'Nough said.

But with good news, there will always be bad news. Unfortunately, the new liaison that was sent after the Annabelle fiasco left because she couldn't handle the constant pranks from Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Jazz, and Bumblebee. The liaison after that couldn't handle the fact that the Autobots were at least seven feet taller than her and fainted when she met Optimus. After that, she packed her things and left the base the day of. And the final liaison lasted longer than any other one that we've had. He left a year after being hired because he found out that he had Huntington's chorea. He wanted to be with his family and cherish his moments with them before the degeneration of his brain made him unable to do so. It was sad watching him leave, being that he was our favourite liaison and could handle the 'Bots' height and the pranks. And me. And Huntington's is a terrible way to go.

In addition to that, Allspark added two inches to my height and six inches to my hair. Now, whenever I sit down, I'm sitting on it. And whenever I'm standing up, I'm looking down at the soldiers I pass in the hallways. Ratchet says that eventually, I'll begin to grow six to eight inches every two weeks. Joy. I've always wanted to be tall, but not this tall.

The last piece of bad news is… well, my birthday's tomorrow. I know I should be happy that I'll officially be old enough to consume alcohol and I have a lot more freedom and I'm a real adult now and blah, blah, blah. But I knew that Sam would never forget my birthday. It was his main day to torture me by punching me for each year that I've been alive. That makes 21 hits. He also taunts me about that fact that I'm aging. I guess he forgot about my immortality. And if anyone, he's the one that's actually aging.

Unless Sam blabbed to everyone that my birthday is tomorrow, he's the only one that knows. Besides Optimus, of course. I told him not to get me anything because I didn't want him to focus on something less important than kicking a Decepticon's aft and saving the universe.

Because of the millions of thoughts racing through my head, I'd forgotten about the beautiful instrument that I was currently trying to practice. It had been a while since I played my cello and I didn't want my skills to worsen. Putting the bow on the D-string, I began to play.

***Transformers: The Score: The All Spark, by Steve Jablonsky, the cello solo***

The song just came to me. I didn't know where it came from, but I continued to play. In the privacy of my room, I thought that no one could hear me practicing, but I end up being wrong quite often. As I played, switching from the D-string to the C-string, shifting up to second position on the A-string, I became lost in the music. This was a normal occurrence for me, no matter how weird it may seem to someone watching.

Each note played, each slur, each barely noticeable change in pitch from the vibrato, put me in a happier place. Euphoria was the only word I could use to describe it. I was sure that there was a smile on my face as switched from mezzo piano to forte, reveling in the increase of volume and the changing octave. The best crescendo that I've ever placed was ringing in my ears, showing my experience in playing the cello. I was sad when the song was over, whatever it was. It had to have been the best thing that I had ever played.

When I finished, I was startled by loud applause from at least seventeen people that were standing behind me. Present was Optimus' holoform, Sam, Mikaela, Lennox, Epps, Graham, and a few soldiers that I didn't know. I blushed and smiled at them nervously, puzzled as to how they got in my room.

"That was beautiful, Spade," Optimus said. My face began to heat up even more, dusting my cheeks with a light blue color instead of red. The Energon was beginning to spread to the rest of my body at a constant, yet slow speed. Now, my blushes are blue.

"Thank you. Um, how did you guys get in here?" I asked nervously. Everyone looked at Optimus, expecting him to answer. I sat Giuseppe down next to the chair and stood up.

"I knocked on the door, but you didn't respond. I became worried, so, I activated my holoform inside your room and you were playing the cello. I thought it sounded amazing, so I opened the door."

"We heard it while we were walking by. You have more than one gift, Spade," Graham said. I smiled again and thanked everyone for their compliments. They began to leave and continue doing whatever it was that they were doing before and left me and Optimus alone.

"So, you liked the song?" I asked while grinning. Optimus smiled and took a few steps towards me.

"I loved it."

"And?"

"You." I hugged him and easily gave him a kiss, now that we were the same height.

"Mmm. I love you, too." He gently stroked the side of my face as I stared at him lovingly. For seven months, we had been dating. Sam and Mikaela, as well as Judy, checked in everyday to see if I had been deflowered. It was quite annoying. So far, we've had passionate kisses, long drives, and the occasional walk on the beaches of Diego Garcia. Nothing more, nothing less. I was fine with it for now, but eventually, I would want to take it to the next level.

"You should get some rest. It is quite late," Optimus noted. I sighed and buried my face in his forever red shirt.

"Will you stay with me?" I looked at him with hopeful eyes. The holoform smiled and took my hand in his, kissing it gently.

"Of course."

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I rolled over and felt that there was no one next to me. I frowned and stretched, hissing when some of the metal in my body shifted and clicked in place. Ratchet told me that the transformation was going well and that I only had a year and about four months until it would be completed. I couldn't wait for that. The pain is… painful, to say the least.

As I wondered where Optimus had gotten to, I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. I grabbed my toothbrush, put a dab of toothpaste on it, and began to brush. After two minutes, I rinsed my mouth and jumped in the shower.

Once I took care of my personal hygiene and put on my clothes, I went to the door and opened it. The sight that greeted me was shocking. There was a pile of gifts in front of the door. I sighed and looked at the different names on the packages. There was one from Sam, Mikaela, Lennox and his family, Epps, Mom and Dad. I picked up the gifts, chuckling to myself and sat down half of the pile on the bed and repeated the process with the remaining gifts. After that, I went back to the door and Optimus's holoform was there with a suspicious grin and his hands behind his back.

I narrowed my eyes with a smile and tried to see what was there, but with the agility of a dancer, he spun round and around to make sure I didn't see what was there.

"Can I say it?" he asked. I sighed again and clicked my tongue.

"Once."

If possible, his grin widened as he said, "Happy Sparkday, sweetspark."

I smiled as he gave me a hug and a quick kiss, his hands remaining behind his back. "Thank you, Orion. Now, you wanna tell me whatcha got there?" I asked impishly. He chuckled and shook his head no.

"Turn around and close your optics," he said. I bit back a laugh and did as he said. "No peaking. It's a surprise." I hummed and listened as fiddled with something before the noise stopped and something cold was put around my neck. At this point, I was dying to open my eyes and see what Optimus got me. But I told him that I wouldn't open them, so I won't, no matter how hard it is. He took my long hair and pulled it up so that, what I presumed was a necklace, didn't get tangled in the long, platinum, strands.

A few more footsteps and I was given permission to open my eyes. As he stood in front of me, beaming and almost bouncing on his heels, I felt around my neck and looked down at what was now around it.

I gasped in shock; it was a beautiful, silver necklace that had the Autobot insignia attached to it. The necklace flashed from the light of the lamp in my room, making it glow. The charm was about the size of half dollar. Looking up at Optimus, I jumped into his arms and thanked him about a million times. "It's beautiful! I love it! Thank you so much!" Optimus chuckled and held me tight.

"You're quite welcome." I grinned and pulled back to look at his face.

"I got a gift from Sam. Is he here?" I asked.

"He arrived this morning. And, Mikaela suggested…" Oh crap. "…that since today is our last day at this base, as well as your sparkday, we should have a 'beach party.'"

"No," I said. "She's out of her mind."

"I already agreed," he said sheepishly. I stared at him blankly and shook my head.

"She has a plan. Keep your eyes and optics peeled. This woman is dangerous."

* * *

After I left the room, I went to the training room to practice using Allspark's power. But as I did, I thought about Cognito. I haven't seen him ever since I left college before Optimus was killed. And right on cue, he appeared in front of me, but he seemed to struggle to do so.

"Cognito? I haven't seen you in half a year!" I gasped. He frowned as his body began to phase out and managed to smile weakly.

"That's because you've been using the Allspark's power a lot," he rasped. I arched an eyebrow and crossed my arms across my chest. The ghost looked down at his shirt, the same one that he's always worn. "It's because I am the Allspark." My jaw dropped at that.

"What are you talking about?"

"I am here with you because of the Allspark, myself actually. When you touched me, I sensed something within you. I knew that I could leave the power of the Allspark to you. And after foreseeing my upcoming destruction, I decided to use you as a host. When I was destroyed, my power was released and is now yours. Incognito was a real Cybertronian, a Neutral that was killed in the crossfire. And this is what his holoform would have looked like. Have you heard of the Well of Allsparks?"

I nodded slowly, so he continued. "That is where Cybertronians go after they have been offlined… unless they are sent to the Pit. I chose a single Cybertronian from the Well to watch you directly. I have always been there, but I have been too weak to actually show myself to anyone, including you. Optimus could see me before because he is a Prime."

"So every time I use your power, you become weaker?"

"Yes. Because every time you use my power, you continue to merge with me. Since you are still alive in every sense of the word, you have more energy than I do and you will eventually have complete control. That is why you are the vessel of the Allspark."

Well, this is awesome. Does that mean I'll be able to do even more when I have complete control? "But," Cognito — er, Allspark said. "There is another reason for my becoming weaker. There is one last shard. I don't know where it is, but as long as it remains separated from us, the weaker I become and the weaker your power is."

"Well, all I have to do is find it, right? We know it's in America because that where it — you were destroyed. It's most likely in Mission City," I replied.

"Good. You will have to find it before another human stumbles upon it. Or a Decepticon. If it gets further away from you, you will feel a tug in your spark because technically, a part of you is missing."

"We aren't even in America! How come I haven't felt a tug from the shard before now?" I questioned. He merely shrugged continued to hover above the grounds of the training room. "So, do I just keep it in my pocket or something?"

"That would be best. If it's destroyed, you will receive its energy, but if it is used to revive a Cybertronian or used to make a piece of human technology a Cybertronian, then the energy will be used for said Cybertronian or technology. But the tug will no longer be there."

"Okay. I'll do my best to find the shard. It might take a while, though." Allspark nodded and began to fade away, but I stopped him for one more question. "I know that I should be able to do more with your power—"

"Our power," he reminded me. I grinned.

"I know that I should be able to do more with _our _power, other than create orbs and shields. Can you tell me what else I can do?"

His eyes sparkled with interest and amusement. "Nope." I pouted and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Why not?! Since technically, we're gonna be one and the same in like, a few months, it's not healthy to keep secrets from yourself," I pointed out. He laughed and began to fade away once again.

"You'll learn the same way you learned that you had the power in the first place," he smirked. I gaped and waved my arms.

"That was on accident!"

"Exactly."

And with that, he fully disappeared. Damn Allspark ghost, keeping secrets from me. I was really hoping that I would be able to fly and I don't really think that there's a way for you to accidently learn how to do that. He didn't specifically say that the only way I would learn is by accident. I smirked and allowed myself to calm down, creating another orb and continuing my practice. If the only way to learn was through accidents, then I would be sure to make a lot of them.

* * *

It was later in the day when Mikaela managed to drag me to the beach for the party that I didn't want to celebrate. At some point in the day, she replaced all of my underwear with bikinis and hid my clothes somewhere on the base. I knew that she had a plan to screw me over today, specifically for my birthday. And for the past four days, I heard her and the Arcee triplets talking about something called Operation: Deflower. One day, I will kill all four of them.

I wasn't quite sure why they were so eager for me to have sex, but I think this counts as peer pressure. I tried to tell her that as she dragged me by my arm to the beach, where most of the base was waiting to say happy sparkday, but she ignored me and grinned the whole way there. This part two of her "genius" plans, but I was determined to ruin it. Four against one isn't too bad if you're part Allspark.

Once we got to the beach, there was a loud chorus of happy sparkdays, as predicted. Thankfully, the sun had started to set, so the sand was a lot cooler to walk on. The 'Bots had there alts parked on a hill near the beach and all of their holoforms were activated. Jazz, Bumblebee, and both sets of Twins were the main 'Bots that were actually having fun in the water. But the triplets were splashing around and such, as well as Brains and Wheelie, the former being a newcomer that joined us after a battle with the Decepticons about two months ago. I sat next to Optimus on a towel, watching in amusement as the others had their fun in the water. I closed my eyes and leaned against the holoform of my boyfriend, smiling when he planted a kiss on my forehead and wrapped his arm around my waist. But to ruin the moment, a shadow loomed over my body and I had a feeling that I knew who it was.

"Excuse me ma'am, but you're blocking my sun," I said snidely, my smile turning into a grin.

"Too bad. You're gonna have fun right now. I mean it," the person said. I automatically recognized the voice as being Mikaela's and opened my eyes.

"You can't force someone to have fun. Especially when that someone really, really hates you right now."

"I didn't do anything to you," she replied, smiling somewhat evilly.

"Not yet. But I know it's coming. You can't fool me, Miss Banes."

"Optimus, can you help me out?"

"No, no. No. Optimus knows that you're up to something too. I can see it in his eyes. And as my boyfriend, he only wants what's best for me. Right?" I asked nervously. The holoform's face remained neutral, but in his eyes, there was a gleam that made me think that he was going to side with Mikaela.

"I think that having fun is what's best for you, Spade. And that's only what Mikaela wants as well."

"No, she just wants to fuck with me," I replied. The brunette put her hands on her hips.

"Spade." I sighed in defeat and stood up slowly, dragging my feet as she pulled me away. "Thanks Optimus!" she said.

"Yeah, thanks Optimus," I snapped sarcastically. This time, he smiled. "Are you in on this?!"

"No, but I've witnessed many things from Mikaela over the past two and a half years. I don't know what 'this' is, but I know that it is bound to be amusing," he said, the evil gleam in his eyes more noticeable.

I gaped as Mikaela continued to pull me away. "Okay, I need you to stand right here." She moved me by my shoulders and placed me in a spot on the cool sand. I tried not to glare and forced a smile.

"Of course." She smirked and walked off to talk to the Arcee triplets, as well as Sam, Epps, Lennox, both sets of Twins, Jazz, and Bumblebee. To know that they were all in on a plan to get me to lose my virginity really bothered me. For some reason, I actually waited in that same spot for the next six minutes. Whatever they had planned was not going to be good for me.

The holoforms of the 'Bots involved disappeared as the humans involved huddled and discussed whatever sick plan that they were about to put into action. I rolled my eyes and stared at them, even as the holoforms came from the base to the rest of the group. Jazz, both sets of Twins, and Bumblebee all held buckets about the size of a desk. I gulped and kept my eyes on them. They got into some sort of formation with Mikaela in the lead. With her hands behind her back, the brunette and every other person that was in on her plan smirked at me before she yelled, "ATTACK!"

The next thing I knew, I was being bombarded with… water balloons. With manic grins on their faces, they each began to throw water balloons at me. I shrieked and tried blocking the with my arms hands, but there were balloons coming from thirteen different people. Finally, after what felt like hours' worth of being hit with liquid filled party items, the attack ceased and there was laughter erupting from the bystanders and the attackers. I was about to retort when I noticed that one of the attackers was missing. I looked around for Sam.

"Where is he?!" I yelled. The attackers laughed and said nothing in response. "Tell me right now or I will slash your tires! And Mikaela, I'll read your diary out loud to Ratchet!" I snarled. She immediately stopped laughing and paled.

Then, she laughed nervously. "What diary? I don't have a diary!"

"Lies!"

"Fine! He's…" She smirked. "…right behind you."

I turned on my heels and paled when I saw that my adoptive brother was holding a very, very large water balloon. It was about the size of beachball. He grinned malevolently and hurled the balloon my way. When it hit me, I was completely covered in water from head to toe. The attackers all cheered at their victory and gave each other high fives before I was enveloped in a hug from Sam. I didn't even try to hug him back, but instead, I pinched one of his nipples, causing him to fall onto the sand, clutching at it painfully.

"I hope you all get hit by a bus and never return!" I yelled at them. But deep down, I was laughing too. But they don't need to know that.

"We are defecting to team Allspark!" Jazz yelled back. I arched an eyebrow and watched as he, Bumblebee, Epps, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Chromia came over to stand by me. Bumblebee and Sunstreaker brought with them two of the containers. Both still had three quarters of the water balloons. I smirked as Sam walked over to Mikaela, pouting and protecting his nipples.

"I wanna try something first," I said. Then, I turned to the ocean and created a shield somewhere out there. I didn't know where it was, but I knew that there was one out there. Then, I turned the flat shield into a spherical one, lifting it out of the water and bringing it towards me. I'm sure that all of our eyes widened at the size of the thing. The best way that I could describe its size is by comparing it to Jazz's alt. Because it was at least that big.

A cruel, ear-to-ear grin spread across my face as I looked at Mikaela and her team. I swore that all seven of them paled as I threw the shield at them. Instead of just standing there like I did, they all ran, but the water shield was faster. Just before it made impact, I made the shield disappear, but the water kept its spherical shape. The impact sent all of the crashing to the sand, soaked with saltwater.

"RETURN FIRE!" I ordered. We all grabbed a handful of water balloons and attacked the opposing team as they stood back up as quickly as possible. They began to do the same. "Take that! Evil laughter!" With every successful shot made by me, I shouted, "Water balloon! Water balloon! Water balloon!"

Team Butthead, as they had been so gracefully named, was beginning to lose. I had the power of war on my side. Most of the Autobots were on my team and they had experienced years of shooting stuff, so their aim was pretty damn well. In addition, we all had ducking practice when we were trying to avoid being hit by one of Ratchet's wrenches.

And at last, the last member standing of Team Butthead, surrendered. "IN YOUR FACES!" Shouts of victory came from my side, as well as the bystanders that were rooting for us. I looked at Optimus and saw him grinning widely.

We continued to celebrate our victory until I heard something familiar. I shushed everyone and listened closely. I heard the sound again. No way… it can't be… but it is! Directing my attention to the water, I saw what I was looking for, its tail splashing down in the ocean.

"WHALE!" I yelled as loud as I could. Bolting for the water, I quickly dived in and swam at inhuman speeds, getting to the large mammal faster than I thought I would. Whales are my favourite animals, believe it or not. I'm sure that Ratchet will probably scan me a million times to make sure I wasn't insane for doing this, but not having to breathe gave me advantage. When I got to the whale, I grabbed onto its giant fin, recognizing it as a humpback.

After grabbing the fin, I pulled myself up and crawled over to his back. I was hoping that it would jump out of the water. And after about a minute, it did, surprising me a little. As soon as we were out of the water, I looked at the group and saw some familiar facial expressions. The "is she crazy" one was present on a majority of their faces and shock covered the rest.

"HI!" I grinned and waved as I yelled out to them. You know, this was actually a really good birthday.

* * *

**-slash warning-**

When the beach party was over and we all retreated to our rooms, I decided to take a shower to get the smell of saltwater and humpback whale off of my body. Honestly, I had to thank Mikaela for the idea. That was the best birthday that I'd ever had.

As I stepped out of the shower, a flash caught my eye. I looked at the counter and smiled and the necklace that Optimus got me as a present. I made sure to take it off before I went to the beach with the others so that it wouldn't end up getting wet. It reminds me that I have several other presents to open and a lot of thank you cards to write.

Wrapping a towel around my body, I groaned when there was a brief surge of pain in my head. So far, it was the second to last thing that needed to be turned into metal by Allspark. My stomach was still a stomach but it was already half Cyber-formed. Eventually, as in sometime next week, my brain matter would be replaced with wires and circuitry, and my level of intelligence would increase. And, I'd have internet service 24/7. In addition to that, I would be able to view the world the way Cybertronians do. It was the change that I was looking forward to the most.

When I left the bathroom and opened my drawer, there was a knock on my door. I grinned because I already knew who it was. I walked over to the door and opened it, revealing the holoform of my awesome boyfriend.

"Hey, come on in," I murmured. As I stepped aside, the holoform smiled and took a few short steps into my room.

"Did you have fun today?" he asked as I gently shut the door.

I sighed and gazed at him. "I did, but don't tell Mikaela that."

"I think she already knows. Your expression while with the whale was probably a dead giveaway," he laughed. I smirked and ran a hand through the wet strands of my extremely long hair.

"Oh well. I got to ride a whale. Nothing can ruin my good mood. Truth be told, I've always wanted to do that."

He pulled me into a hug. "I'm glad you enjoyed your day."

I smiled up at him and gave him a quick peck on the lips, but it turned into something more. A quick peck turned into a deep kiss faster than I thought it would or ever could. And as tongues battled and teeth clanked against each other, I thought back to Mikaela and her stupid plan to get me to have sex. No matter what, I vowed to myself, we are not doing this because of her.

If possible, the kiss became even deeper as my hands entangled in dark, navy blue hair. The distance between us closed as both of us tried to get as close to each other as physically possible. I reveled in his sweet taste. Strangely, it tasted like… strawberries. I mentally shrugged my shoulders. I love strawberries anyway.

I felt a pair of hands leave my back and slowly make their way up from my stomach to the knot I had in the towel. It was the only thing keeping it my body. His hands stopped as if waiting for permission. I broke the kiss for half a second to nod sharply, and right after that, when our lips crashed together again, the Prime's hands gracefully undid the knot and the towel fell to the floor.

I gasped as the cold air hit her body. I'd been waiting for this for a few months now, but the courage to ask was never present until now. Not wanting to be the only naked one, I placed my hands at the hem of his shirt and broke the kiss again for only a fraction of a second to lift it over his head. Once it was gone, the battle of tongues and teeth resumed. I was thankful now, more than ever, for Allspark Cyberforming my body and replacing my lungs with wires, metal, and circuitry.

My hands dropped down to his pants, and I grinned into the kiss when I felt the belt that Optimus was wearing. He never ceased to amuse me. Before I removed the belt, he kicked off his shoes. Then, I quickly undid the belt, button, and zipper before the holoform took over and the pants were finally removed. When my hands went back to pull down his underwear, I only felt warm, yet false skin. Puzzled I pulled back and my eyes widened at the sight.

Optimus pulled both down in one move and his member… Let's just say that everything on his body is… proportional to his height. 'Nough said, right? I blushed, a light tint of blue dusting my cheeks. Suddenly, an arm was hooked behind my knees as my body was lifted into my Prime's arms. He carried me bridal style over to the bed and gently sat me down before his body covered mine and he, once again, claimed my mouth.

The kiss was shorter this time and he broke away. I was going to protest, but his lips ghosted over my neck. I turned my head to give him better access and released a pleasured sigh as he tenderly nipped and sucked at the area. His lips trailed lower and lower until they reached one of my "squishy, round, mounds of flesh", as the Autobots call them. The femmes don't have such body parts, as I had been told.

Optimus pulled back and examined them before using a single digit to lightly poke one of them. I tried not to giggle; I hate it when people laugh during sex. No, I don't watch porn. I just read it. Well, there was that one time—

He smiled after he poked it, probably for the same reason as a human man would after getting to touch one for the first time. Is it the texture? The softness? I might ask later. The holoform used his entire hand to cover the breast and experimentally kneaded it, drawing a somewhat loud groan from me. He let out a choked gasp, probably from how embarrassingly erotic I sounded a few seconds ago. After humming quietly, he used both hands to repeat the action.

I arched into his touch and thanked Lennox for making the walls soundproof as I released yet another loud groan. My eyes squeezed shut when a finger lightly touched a hardened nipple. He released those "squishy mounds" and came back up to kiss me lovingly.

In return, I lowered a hand to his groin and gently wrapped it around his throbbing member. Then, I gave it a single, long stroke, looking him in the eyes the whole time. Optimus jerked back in surprise and pleasure, hissing my name quietly. I grinned and repeated her action several times, keeping him on the edge, but not letting him go over just yet. He was close; I could tell based on the volume of his last groan. I don't want it to end just yet, however.

An idea popped into my head. I leaned forward, and with one last stroke, I bit his neck hard, marking him as mine. The holoform squeezed his bright blue eyes shut once my hand released his member. "Spade," he whispered. I knew that he couldn't hold on much longer, so I stroked the side of his face so that he would open his eyes. Then, I nodded and planted a short, yet loving kiss on his lips.

And with that, he lowered his body and stuck two fingers in his mouth. I thinks I should have known what was about to happen, but I didn't. He took one of the lubricated digits and — _Jesus Christ! _The finger was suddenly inside my body, and I made a face showing my discomfort at the intrusion.

"This will make it hurt less," he said, noticing the look on my face.

"Less?" I asked.

"You said you were a virgin. It's already going to hurt, but this will make it easier for both of us."

"Oh yeah…"

He made slow, gentle thrusts with a finger, and eventually, the pain was replaced with pleasure. I released a gasp, gripping the sheets below me tightly, as another finger was added, stretching me out pleasurably. The thrusts were short, as he didn't want to use a finger to break the barrier between virginity and… not virginity.

When he pulled his fingers out, I bit back a whine, remembering that those two fingers would be replaced with something much bigger. He positioned himself at my entrance and we made eye contact. "Are you sure?" he murmured. I nodded and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I've waited seven months to do this," I whispered back. He smiled and gently pushed in. It was indeed, quite painful. I hissed and closed my eyes as he buried his head in the crook of my neck, whispering calming things to take my mind off of the pain. It was still there, just less noticeable. And when he finally broke the seal, I gasped balled my hands into fists. It was more than painful. I thought that instead of having sex, I was giving birth. To triplets. And all three of them were trying to come out at the same time.

A single tear fell out of one of my eyes as he stilled. There was a pleasured look on his face that sent a burst of arousal through my body, lessening the pain. And after about a minute, it was gone. I nodded at him and he pulled out before thrusting again. And suddenly, everything felt hot as if the sun was shining directly on the two of us. With each thrust, I let out a moan and Optimus let out a deep, throaty groan. The two of us were lost, pleasure clouding our thoughts, bursts of white behind my eyes making me shudder beneath him.

As he continued on, he went deeper, harder, faster… and found _that _spot. I arched up against him, and he knew what to do. He began to hit that spot over and over and over again. I knew I wouldn't last much longer and when he gave a choked groan, I knew that he felt the same.

"Orion," I managed to say. And we both knew. With one last thrust, we cried out each other's names and something, a liquid, rushed into me as my body quivered. He pulled out and fell next to me on the bed as both of us panted.

"I don't have lungs and I'm panting. So are you… I don't understand," I said simply.

"Ratchet probably has the answer to that." He pulled me closer to his body and I snuggled up against him. "Hmm."

"What?" I asked.

"I think you enjoyed it." I heard the smile in his voice.

A light blue tint stained my cheeks. "Well, _you _seemed quite experienced." He hummed and looked at me sheepishly. My eyes widened as I gazed at him. "No way… You were a hooker?!" I screeched. His eyes widened as well before he shook his head rapidly.

"No! That just… wasn't my first time."

I pursed my lips and crossed my arms behind my head, leaning back on a pillow. "Just for one second, let's pretend that it was."

We remained silent, both of us staring at the ceiling. I had something on my mind, but I didn't want to bring it up and ruin the post coital haze. Optimus seemed to have noticed that I was lost in my thoughts.

"Spade?" he asked gently. "What is it?"

"Nothing," I replied. He arched an eyebrow. "It's nothing, really."

"Spade, you can ask me anything."

I sighed and sat up, giving an impish smile. "Can we do it again?"

* * *

**The end! See you in three hours for the next story! Hopefully, the blush'll be gone by then.**

**Denali Prime out!**


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